Having served as a senior British official and as an appointed member of an otherwise elected African cabinet, the author presents an eyewitness description of how Nyasaland became the independent state of Malawi. The book is based partly own Phillips's own diaries, but also on public records and the recollections of colleagues, family and friends. It describes how Hastings Banda, an astute African politician, outwitted two Prime Ministers and became one himself within six years. Accounts of the business of government are interspersed with descriptions of the environment and social life of a British civil servant overseas. The narrative does not end with the independence of Malawi - the author maintained his close relations with the country and with Banda, its formidable President, who is portrayed in a more favourable light than is customary.
- ISBN10 1860642489
- ISBN13 9781860642487
- Publish Date 31 December 1998
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 5 June 2021
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Radcliffe Press
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 240
- Language English