Kalashnikovs and Zombie Cucumbers

A travel book covering a little-understood part of southern Africa, where western culture meets a world of ancient beliefs. Mozambique is revealed as a resilient, good-natured country experiencing the contradictions of the modern aid business, coping with the legacy of 500 years of Portuguese rule.

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Middleton made two trips to Mozambique in 1992, one before and one after the peace accord was signed to end a savage civil war. Despite its recent history, he found a resilient country full of integrity and good nature, and saw the contradictions of the modern aid business, which is taking over the legacy of 500 years of Portuguese rule in a country which, until independence, was known only for for its prawns and prostitutes. This travel book illuminates a little-understood part of southern Africa, a country where the culture of the West meets a world of older beliefs, still full of magic and ghosts.