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As Premier of British Guiana, Forbes Burnham led the country to independence in 1966 and spent two decades as its head of state. This biography examines how he rose to power by combining nationalist rhetoric, socialist policies, and Pan-Africanist philosophies, leading to a rule that was frequently dictatorial and corrupt, yet also sometimes surprisingly progressive.
List of contents
ABBREVIATIONS
INTRODUCTION
1 FORBES BURNHAM
The Making of a Postcolonial Caribbean Leader 2 BRITISH GUIANA
The Genesis of the Postcolonial Struggle 3 IMPERIAL OBSTRUCTION AND BURNHAM’S DESIGN ON POLITICAL LEADERSHIP
4 THE CONSOLIDATION OF POWER
5 FRONTIERS OF DYSTOPIA AND THE CRISIS OF CHARISMA
6 THE DEMISE OF THE COMRADE LEADER
7 AN AMBIVALENT LEGACY
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
NOTES
BIBLIOGRPAHY
INDEX
Photo gallery follows page
About the author
LINDEN F. LEWIS is a professor emeritus of sociology at Bucknell University. Coauthor of the book
Caribbean Masala: Indian Identity in Guyana and Trinidad, he has also edited the collections
Color, Hair and Bone: Race in the Twenty-First Century, The Culture of Gender and Sexuality in the Caribbean, and
Caribbean Sovereignty, Development and Democracy in an Age of Globalization.
Summary
As Premier of British Guiana, Forbes Burnham led the country to independence in 1966 and spent two decades as its head of state. This biography examines how he rose to power by combining nationalist rhetoric, socialist policies, and Pan-Africanist philosophies, leading to a rule that was frequently dictatorial and corrupt, yet also sometimes surprisingly progressive.
