Albert Rene is a towering figure of modern Seychelle, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, east of mainland Southeast Africa and northeast of the island of Madagascar. He arouses intense emotions in both admirers and opponents. This first full-length biography analyzes Rene's early years, his political awakening, and his struggle for full electoral support in the face of strong opposition. Frustrated by the slow pace of Seychelle's economic development and the extent of social division along racial lines, Albert Rene took the fateful decision to seize power by coup d'etat in 1977. It is a dramatic story, which includes an attempted invasion by South African mercenaries. In 1992-93, Rene finessed a change from a one-party socialist state to multi-party rule. He bequeathed to his successor a transformed nation that had shed its oppressive racial hierarchy and had attained the highest social and economic indicators within the African region. Underlying the political drama is the story of the compassion and romance of the all too human man that is Albert Rene. The book adds authority to this account by the depth of research through archives and contemporary newspapers, as well as extensive interviews covering both his political and personal life, the latter including interviews with all three of Albert Rene's wives. *** "A saga of political drama, struggle, and ultimately hope...fascinating from cover to cover, and highly recommended especially for public and college library biography collections." -- Midwest Book Review, Library Bookwatch, The Biography Shelf, October 2014 [Subject: Biography, Politics, History, African Studies]Ã?Â?Ã?Â?Ã?Â?Ã?Â?

Robinson details the life and times of France-Albert René (1935-2019), the second post-independence leader of Seychelles who oversaw the nation's transition to democracy after over a decade of his brutal dictatorship. René's career was Seychelles' history over the forty-three years from independence in 1976 until his peaceful death. Having seized power in a violent coup he presented himself as a socialist in the Cold War but transitioned to build Africa's most successful relationship with international lenders and developed Seychelles as a major offshore tax haven. He also sustained and cultivated Seychelles' position as a Western tourism-based economy. Robinson outlines not only René's use of political violence and extrajudicial killing but also his unique relationship with transnational, organised crime including his links with the New York mafia, Italian organised crime interests and even helping to arm the Rwandan genocide. Nevertheless, René - a white leader of an African nation - avoided the self-isolation of Rhodesia and South Africa; endowed racial harmony; enabled women to advance politically and socially; and left Seychelles with high incomes, currency convertibility, and robust human and physical infrastructure. This is an essential read for anyone with an interest in the history of Seychelles, which will also be of great value to scholars of postcolonial states, African studies, microstates and the Indian Ocean region.

Robinson details the life and times of France-Albert René (1935–2019), the second post-independence leader of Seychelles who oversaw the nation’s transition to democracy after over a decade of his brutal dictatorship. René’s career was Seychelles’ history over the forty-three years from independence in 1976 until his peaceful death. Having seized power in a violent coup he presented himself as a socialist in the Cold War but transitioned to build Africa’s most successful relationship with international lenders and developed Seychelles as a major offshore tax haven. He also sustained and cultivated Seychelles’ position as a Western tourism-based economy. Robinson outlines not only René’s use of political violence and extrajudicial killing but also his unique relationship with transnational, organised crime including his links with the New York mafia, Italian organised crime interests and even helping to arm the Rwandan genocide. Nevertheless, René – a white leader of an African nation – avoided the self-isolation of Rhodesia and South Africa; endowed racial harmony; enabled women to advance politically and socially; and left Seychelles with high incomes, currency convertibility, and robust human and physical infrastructure. This is an essential read for anyone with an interest in the history of Seychelles, which will also be of great value to scholars of postcolonial states, African studies, microstates and the Indian Ocean region.

More than fifty years after Algerian independence, Albert Camus’ Algerian Chronicles appears here in English for the first time. Published in France in 1958, the same year the Algerian War brought about the collapse of the Fourth French Republic, it is one of Camus’ most political works—an exploration of his commitments to Algeria. Dismissed or disdained at publication, today Algerian Chronicles, with its prescient analysis of the dead end of terrorism, enjoys a new life in Arthur Goldhammer’s elegant translation. “Believe me when I tell you that Algeria is where I hurt at this moment,” Camus, who was the most visible symbol of France’s troubled relationship with Algeria, writes, “as others feel pain in their lungs.” Gathered here are Camus’ strongest statements on Algeria from the 1930s through the 1950s, revised and supplemented by the author for publication in book form. In her introduction, Alice Kaplan illuminates the dilemma faced by Camus: he was committed to the defense of those who suffered colonial injustices, yet was unable to support Algerian national sovereignty apart from France. An appendix of lesser-known texts that did not appear in the French edition complements the picture of a moralist who posed questions about violence and counter-violence, national identity, terrorism, and justice that continue to illuminate our contemporary world.