For five years Alec Russell was the 'Telegraph's' man in Africa. In this witty, informative and highly intelligent book, he looks at Africa through his encounters with its "Big Men". Each one represents a theme that has shaped Africa: Mobutu Sese Seko, the "King of Kleptocracy", whose staggering corruption crippled Zaire; Jonas Savimbi, the life-long guerrilla and symbol of the Cold War's destructive legacy on the continent; the quixotic Hastings Banda, the ultimate product of colonialism; and of course, Nelson Mandela, symbol of reconcilliation and hope for an entire continent.
At the end of the twentieth century, Africa is facing a desperate struggle not to fall off the world map. But Russell tempers the gloom through his encounters with the "little people", such as the fledging human rights troupe deep in the steamy heart of the Congolese jungle, and the group of journalists keeping Moi's tottering regime in Kenya on its toes.
