The Road Not Taken

In 1965, I was employed by Bristol Siddely Engines (later taken over by Rolls Royce) in England. When the project I was working on was abruptly cancelled by the newly elected government, I decided to seek my fame and fortune in a distant land. 

The first job offer I received was from a mining company in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). My first wife was pregnant with our first child, and there was a lot of political unrest in Rhodesia -- remember all those movies set in the jungle with the drums beating at night and the inevitable cliché "the natives are restless tonight"? We didn't think it would be the safest place to raise a child, so I turned down the offer.

I've often wondered what life would have been like if we'd gone to Rhodesia, so when I read a review of this book I ordered it from our local library. 

Alexandra Fuller was born in England in 1969. In 1972 she moved with her family to Zimbabwe, then to Malawi and Zambia. They were farmers, and their lives were full of hardship, and at times terror, yet Fuller developed an unshakeable love of Africa. It's a fascinating story. 

I have no regrets.