Gardner Thompson offers a fresh history of British rule in Southern Rhodesia, from the first colonial settlements in Mashonaland in the 1890s to the establishment of the country's sovereignty as Zimbabwe.

After tracing developments in the early decades, Thompson turns to the post–World War II debate about the colony's future direction—which pitted progressive settlers against the increasingly racialist conservative core—the impact of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965, and the many damaging consequences of the choices that were made. Not least, he assesses the legacy of Rhodesian colonialism in postcolonial Zimbabwe.

Gardner Thompson is a historian of British imperialism, with a focus on Africa and the Middle East. His previous publications include Uganda: British Colonial Rule and Its Legacy and Legacy of Empire: Britain, Zionism and the Creation of Israel (short-listed for the Middle East Monitor's 2020 Palestine Book Awards). Dr. Thompson is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

• Why a New History of Southern Rhodesia?
• The Founding of Southern Rhodesia.
• The Settler Colony.
• Winds of Change.
• Liberal Dawn?
• Turn to the Right.
• Cul-de-Sac.
• Legacy: Zimbabwe.
• Judging Empire.