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    The Barrel of a Gun

    Political Power in Africa and the Coup d'État

    Part of Verso's Southern Questions

    Author Ruth First
    Ebook
    Verso Books | Verso
    On sale Aug 18, 2026 | 320 Pages | 9781804299463
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    Ruth First's classic study of coups d'état in post-colonial Africa with a groundbreaking critical introduction for a new generation.

    A classic study of the role coups d’état played in postcolonial Africa, Ruth First’s The Barrel of a Gun is being republished for the first time in 50 years with a critical introduction from Christopher J. Lee. If Frantz Fanon had not died in 1961, what might a sequel to The Wretched of the Earth have looked like? Ruth First’s The Barrel of a Gun provides a possible answer by addressing one of the most notorious and complicated phenomena in postcolonial Africa—the coup d’état. Written at a time when the fervor of decolonization and independence was receding, and the vulnerabilities and violent realities of postcolonial state power were being confronted, The Barrel of a Gun remains a foundational work on the topic of postcolonial coups and state power.
    Ruth First was an internationally known anti-apartheid activist who was a member of the South African Communist Party (SACP) and the African National Congress (ANC). In 1982, she was assassinated in Maputo, Mozambique, by a mail bomb sent by the apartheid government.

    Christopher J. Lee is a historian who has written or edited thirteen previous books on different aspects of decolonization, global history, and the South African Left. He has held academic appointments at universities in Africa, Asia, and North America. As Co-General Editor, he is currently completing the five-volume Cambridge History of Colonialism and Decolonization.
    Ruth First View titles by Ruth First

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    Ruth First's classic study of coups d'état in post-colonial Africa with a groundbreaking critical introduction for a new generation.

    A classic study of the role coups d’état played in postcolonial Africa, Ruth First’s The Barrel of a Gun is being republished for the first time in 50 years with a critical introduction from Christopher J. Lee. If Frantz Fanon had not died in 1961, what might a sequel to The Wretched of the Earth have looked like? Ruth First’s The Barrel of a Gun provides a possible answer by addressing one of the most notorious and complicated phenomena in postcolonial Africa—the coup d’état. Written at a time when the fervor of decolonization and independence was receding, and the vulnerabilities and violent realities of postcolonial state power were being confronted, The Barrel of a Gun remains a foundational work on the topic of postcolonial coups and state power.

    Author

    Ruth First was an internationally known anti-apartheid activist who was a member of the South African Communist Party (SACP) and the African National Congress (ANC). In 1982, she was assassinated in Maputo, Mozambique, by a mail bomb sent by the apartheid government.

    Christopher J. Lee is a historian who has written or edited thirteen previous books on different aspects of decolonization, global history, and the South African Left. He has held academic appointments at universities in Africa, Asia, and North America. As Co-General Editor, he is currently completing the five-volume Cambridge History of Colonialism and Decolonization.
    Ruth First View titles by Ruth First

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