Inspired by the events leading up to the overthrow of Doctor Hastings Kamuzu Banda's Life Presidency, this book explores the deep logic of Malawi's political culture as it emerged in the colonial and early post-colonial periods. It draws on archival sources from three continents and oral testimonies gathered over a ten-year period provided by those who lived these events. Power narrates how anti-colonial protest was made relevant to the African majority through the painstaking engagement of politicians in local grievances and struggles, which they then linked to the fight against white settler domination in the guise of the Central African Federation. She also explores how Doctor Banda (leader of independent Malawi for thirty years), the Nyasaland African Congress, and its successor, the Malawi Congress Party, functioned within this political culture, and how the MCP became a formidable political machine. Central to this process was the deployment of women and youth to cut across parochial politics and consolidate a broad base of support. No less important was the deliberate manipulation of history and the use of rumor and innuendo, symbol and pageantry, persecution and reward. It was this mix that made people both accept and reject the MCP regime, sometimes simultaneously. Joey Power is professor of history at Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario.

This book is an inimitable read. The rigorous research and ingenious interpretation that Joey Power brings to bear on the missing pages of the nation's history, helps to close the void that was evident, and brings balance to what has been otherwise a one-sided tale. Joey Power is a serious and diligent researcher.... A third of her book consists of splendid footnotes, bibliography and index; her use of primary and rare sources, oral interviews, even rumours, as well as her speculative interpretation of Malawi's culture and politics are original and robust.'

Source: Leeds African Studies Bulletin

A convincing analysis that significantly improves on existing understandings of the political history of late-colonial Malawi. [It] will certainly become a standard work of reference on Malawian nationalism.'

Source: Journal of African History

Power's research is prodigious. She shows mastery of a vast secondary literature. [.] This gracefully written book is a rich feast. It will likely remain a standard for years to come.'

Source: American Historical Review