Alois S. Mlambo is Head of the Department of Historical and Heritage Studies at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. He has published numerous articles on Zimbabwe's social and economic history and has authored and edited several books on Zimbabwe. He is on the advisory board of the Journal of Southern African Studies.

• 1. Introduction: Zimbabwe in historical perspective; 2. Early states, c.900–1900; 3. The British conquest state; 4. Colonial economy and society to 1953; 5. The federation years, 1953–63; 6. Nationalist movements to 1965; 7. Udi and African response; 8. Independent Zimbabwe, 1980–2000; 9. The crisis years, 2000–8; 10. Conclusion: Zimbabwe past, present and future prospects.

'The absence of a single text dedicated to the longue durée of Zimbabwe's history can now be said to be a thing of the past. At long last, Professor Alois Mlambo has, for the first time, produced a crisp single-volume book that documents the country's rich historical experience, covering the entire precolonial, colonial and postcolonial continuum. Easily readable but deeply incisive in its evaluations, A History of Zimbabwe coherently weaves together historiographical debates, which scholars have been engaged in over time, with a clear content analysis framed by recognizable themes and chronology. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the long historical trajectory of contemporary socio-economic and political developments in Zimbabwe. Professor Mlambo's book will become the classic text on the history of Zimbabwe for a long time to come.' Muchaparara Musemwa, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg