News From Nowhere Radical & Community Bookshop
not-for-profit - a workers'co-op - committed to social justice | 96 Bold Street, Liverpool L1 4HY - 0151 708 7270
Idi Amin: The Story of Africa's Icon of Evil
by Mark Leopold - £12.99 Yale University Press (2021)
paperback
ISBN 13: 9780300260885 | ISBN 10: 0300260881
The first serious full-length biography of former Ugandan president Idi Amin, modern Africa's most famous dictator.
Idi Amin began his career in the British army in colonial Uganda, and worked his way up the ranks before seizing power in a British-backed coup in 1971.
He built a violent and unstable dictatorship, ruthlessly eliminating perceived enemies and expelling Uganda's Asian population as the country plunged into social and economic chaos.
In this powerful and provocative new account, Mark Leopold places Amin's military background and close relationship with the British state at the heart of the story. He traces the interwoven development of Amin's career and his popular image as an almost supernaturally evil monster, demonstrating the impossibility of fully distinguishing the truth from the many myths surrounding the dictator.
Using an innovative biographical approach, Leopold reveals how Amin was, from birth, deeply rooted in the history of British colonial rule, how his rise was a legacy of imperialism, and how his monstrous image was created.
(Price & availability last checked: July 2021)
© News From Nowhere Co-operative Ltd IP24524R 2004-2025 | Privacy policy | Contact | return to top of page