This book, first published in 1983 by Cambridge University Press and
now issued for the first time in paperback with a new preface, tells
the story of Amilcar Cabral who, as head of PAIGC, Guinea-Bissau's
nationalist movement, became one of Africa's foremost revolutionary
leaders. In less than twenty years of active political life, Cabral
led Guinea-Bissau's nationalists to the most complete political and
military success ever achieved by an African political movement
against a colonial power. At the time of his death in 1973, months
before Guinea-Bissau became independent, his influence extended well
beyond the Lusophone world and Africa. Friends and foes alike admired
his political acumen and skills and saw in him a potential leader of
a non-aligned movement. His writings have shown him to be a
sophisticated analyst of the social, economic, and political factors
which have affected and continue to affect the developing world. At a
time when there is a general sense of despondency about the future of
Africa, as well as cynicism about its political elites, it is
instructive to be reminded that the continent has produced a
political leader of Cabral's caliber.
