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Goodbye, Dr Banda
£9.99
Goodbye, Dr Banda—Lessons for the West From a Small African Country
Lessons for the West from a small African country's journey
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About the Ebook
'You may never have been, may never go, may never even have heard of the place – but Malawi will repay your attention. It is one of the smallest, poorest countries in Africa, often overlooked; but its relationship with us in the West has been extraordinary.'
In a ruined dictator's palace, Alexander Chula – a classicist-turned-doctor, fresh out of Oxford – stumbles upon an oak treasure chest. Inside is a priceless, antique edition of Julius Caesar's Gallic War. This unexpected talisman of Western high culture belongs to the mercurial Dr Banda, a man of many parts: scholarly physician, anti-colonial hero, brutal tyrant, and fallen philosopher-king.
Banda leads the author deep into the heart of this mysterious country, there to uncover a bizarre meeting of worlds: between one of Africa's most fascinating indigenous cultures and the best and worst of our own. Here tribal ritual collides with Greek theatre; masked dancers with roving classicists; poets and pop stars with missionary-explorers; hippies and kleptocrats with long-suffering peasants.
The story is enigmatic but exhilarating, by turns edifying and deeply uncomfortable. But we would do well to examine it: Malawi presents urgent lessons which resonate piercingly in our vexed age of culture wars and identity crisis.
Why You'll Love This Ebook
- Discover lessons for the West from a small African nation's journey
- Explore democracy, reform, and governance through real experience
- Engage with thoughtful political and social commentary
- Read another celebrated title from Polygon - an imprint of Birlinn Ltd
Reviews
'Triumphantly upends the familiar narrative — a quixotic attempt to show us what countries can learn about love and art from rural Malawians' Financial Times
'A quite superb book that will linger with the reader for a long time — a highly unusual personal memoir, but also a sympathetic and perceptive portrait of a country and its past' Alexander McCall Smith
'A riveting — and cautionary — tale of a collision of two cultures. Brilliantly observed and packed with insights, the result is an African classic' Michael Holman
'Chula's powerfully thought-provoking book shows the folly of treating Western high culture as merely a tool for self-flagellation' The Critic
'This book gets better and better as it goes along — a very important contribution to the ongoing debate about colonialism' Sir Roger Scruton
About the Author
Alexander Chula is an NHS doctor and writer. He was born and raised in London, and is of mixed Thai and British ancestry. He read Classics at Worcester College, Oxford, then medicine at the University of London. He has worked in Malawi both as a teacher of Latin and Greek and as a doctor.Publication Details
Publisher: Polygon (an imprint of Birlinn Ltd)
Publication Date: 04 May 2023
Print Length: 320 pages (Ebook edition)
ISBN (Ebook): 9781788855792
Format: Ebook
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