«A thoughtful meditation on the role and effects of violence in the colonial and post-colonial making of nation and state in Zimbabwe … [the book] raises questions of significance for a wider audience.» (Mahmood Mamdani, Herbert Lehman Professor of Government, Columbia University)«An important addition to the new critical scholarship on nationalism emerging out of the economic and governance crisis in Zimbabwe.» (Jane L. Parpart, Professor of Development Studies, University of The West Indies)«An exciting theoretical-historiographical exploration of Zimbabwean history from the pre-colonial to the contemporary period.» (Brian Raftopoulos, Director of Research and Advocacy, Solidarity Peace Trust)