The life story of Samora Machel (1933–1986) reads like a compelling novel: humble beginnings, a rise through the ranks of the Frelimo anticolonial liberation movement, successes and failures as president of the new People's Republic of Mozambique, and death in a mysterious plane crash.

Telling Machel's extraordinary story through a biographical introduction and transcripts of numerous speeches and interviews, Colin Darch and David Hedges give voice to a man who had a distinct vision for the people of southern Africa.