Larger than life…

Yet a different perspective many years after he is gone. I enjoyed this biography of Cecil Rhodes, someone I had not known much about. I had no idea how famous a figure he was in British history. A product of his era and the privilege he garnered from his business ventures (diamonds are everyone’s best friend), he was revered and looked up to as a man of his time. From humble beginnings he made a fortune, and a name, for himself that stood the test of time.

As is often when looking back, the farther from the actual events, meant a more balanced recounting of what actually happened. I felt the author tried really hard (and often was successful) in describing the man’s life and accomplishments while filtering them through a modern lens. Colonialism and imperialism have a much darker meaning today, seen negatively (for the most part) rather than positively, and that balance is attempted here. If the author’s take was not as critical as it might have been, it offered many hard, indisputable facts about the thirst for land, power and money in past generations.

Full of lots of information but told in a highly approachable, this was an entertaining read, offering glimpses into a bygone era and a man who reveled, and prospered, in it.

Well-researched, comprehensive and always fair and balanced, this biography of controversial figure Cecil Rhodes is exactly what a good biography should be – illuminating and entertaining. I enjoyed it very much and learnt a great deal. Recommended.

NB: This is a review of a free electronic ARC provided by Netgalley.

My grandfather thought Cecil Rhodes was pretty much the greatest man who ever lived. I have a much more complicated opinion of the man; one that is now more informed thanks to this interesting portrait of a controversial figure in the history of southern Africa.

The book certainly isn't flawless, of course. Roberts is hampered by the active efforts of Rhodes himself and several of those near him to obscure the details of several major events in Rhodes's life, and the denouement seems to come rather abruptly. Also, there's a clumsily constructed section that (I think unintentionally) implies being homosexual is to be 'sexually maladjusted'.

If you have an interest in learning more about the man who set out to make the whole of Africa British, though, this is a good place to start.

This biography was well researched and contained a lot of information that I hadn’t previously read in other books. The author’s attention to detail is evident in the writing. Highly recommend!