3 Review(s)

The 1960s were a tumultuous period in the history of Africa as one country after another won independence from the colonial powers. This was particularly true of Tanzania as it sought to carve out a role for itself between conflicting ideologies.It was in these extraordinary times that Al Noor Kassum rose to become a prominent political figure in newly independent Tanzania. Handpicked by Julius Nyerere -later to become the country's first president - to run for elections on a Tanganyika African National Union ticket, he embarked on a career that brought him to prominence nationally and internationally.Kassum studied law at the Inns of Court in London before returning to East Africa and his international perspective offers fresh insight into Tanzania's struggle to balance receiving aid with remaining independent of the world superpowers. Inter-African relations also proved demanding, with anti-colonial struggles still raging in neighbouring countries to the south, the despotic Idi Amin to the north-west and problems with Kenya that ultimately resulted in the break-up of the East African Community."Africa's Winds of Change" documents the changes that have taken place in Tanzania from the middle of the twentieth century to the present day, through the prism of an East African Asian experience. The author sheds new light on the character and legacy of Julius Nyerere, who emerges as radically different from the stereotypical anti-Western firebrand image in the West. "Africa's Winds of Change" offers a fascinating personal history of a unique African nation at a critical stage in its development.