In the Name of the People

Lara Pawson worked for the BBC World Service from 1998 to 2007, reporting from Mali, Ivory Coast and Sao Tome and Principe. From 1998 to 2000, she was the BBC correspondent in Angola, covering the civil war, and has returned to the country several times since. She currently works as a freelance journalist and lives in London.

• Introduction                                                                                                                            PART I1          Meeting Maria                                                                                                            2          In the shadow of DISA                                                                                               3          The saboteurs, the parasites, the opportunists                                                            4          When normal things don't go normally                                                                       5          Fascism was finished. Socialism had begun                                                    6          Just like the movies                                                                                                    7          The brother                                                                                                                 8          Sounds of microfiche                                                                                      9          Never meet your heroes                                                                                              10        Sent to Cuba                                                                                                               11        Closing in on the kill                                                                                                   PART II12        So many dragonflies                                                                                                    13        Saved by a poet                                                                                                           14        To Sambizanga                                                                                                            15        The little red book                                                                                                                   16        Kilometre 14                                                                                                               17        Cold War paradox                                                                                                       18        Appearances                                                                                                                19        A death camp                                                                                                  20        Metamorphoses of the enemy                                                                                    21        On the beach                                                                                                               22        How our heads are formed                                                                                          PART III23        Loose ends                                                                                                                  24        A Cuban connection                                                                                                   Epilogue                                                                                                                                  Notes                                                                                                                                       Bibliography

'...compelling...[her] conversational tone, her musings, and lively descriptions, make In the Name of the People as engaging as it is informative.' - Lucy Popescu, TLS; '...beautifully written, shaped by astounding imagery that keeps the reader anchored to the sights, sounds, smells and feelings Pawson encountered as she traversed the often gruesome realities of lives affected by the vinte e sete and in years that followed...the true value of Pawson's exceptional book resides in her illumination of the often ignored psychologies of post-colonial Africa...Pawson should be celebrated for embracing the complexity that is the nature of post-colonial African politics, for her willingness to discuss the ugly side of the liberation struggle in Angola, for creating a platform for those who grieve over this event to be heard. It is in the telling of these uncomfortable truths, that we can avoid the repetitions of past mistakes in the future.' - Rochelle Burgess, Africa at LSE blog; 'a variety of fascinating characters...she [Lara] succeeds in creating some kind of a true record of what happened on that terrible day and its long term effect. She also nicely evokes the ambience of Luanda.' - Nigel Watt, The Chartist; '...a towering success... brims with life, with a curiosity that is both moral and unwavering... Pawson has written an African non-fiction classic, which is the toughest kind. The book serves not as an answer, but the Answer: if we hope to understand our present circumstances, then we must go in search of the past, and what we fail to find must somehow be worked into our stories regardless... a story of an investigation into a plot that ends up revealing the soul of a people.' - Richard Poplak, Daily Maverick (South Africa); 'The recounting of encounters... are where Pawson's innovative methodology - mixing academic rigor, investigative journalism, and the prose of a non-omniscient detective-novel narrator - is most powerful. The unrelenting lack of repentance of certain MPLA-sympathizing writers who were either taken for a ride or complicit with Angola's self-serving elites is juxtaposed with Pawson's increasing willingness to question the pillars of what she had held to be self-evident truths about Angola.' - The L.A. Review of Books;'Pawson's writing style, with its vivid imagery, is captivating... Pawson supplies an illuminating account of Angola's contemporary history and politics. The book is digestible, entertaining and informative for those new to the topic and region as well as being in-depth enough to cater to those with more expertise in the region.' - Megan Smith, LSE Review of Books; '...a timely new perspective...it is testimony to Pawson's investigative eye, and also to her courage, that she has written a book about one of the biggest taboos in Angolan history...her candid conversations with survivors, widows and Angolan establishment figures draw the reader into an adventure-like study of post-colonial life in the country...a highly engaging read...' - Joana Ramiro, The New Humanist; '...drafted with poetic skill...a fascinating examination of how societies which try to lock away their traumas remain haunted by ghosts rattling their chains.' - Michela Wrong, The Spectator (chosen as a Book of the Year);