From Obscurity Bright Dawn

From Obscurity to Bright Dawn is a fascinating eyewitness description of a remarkable period of African history. Henry Phillips provides an insider's account, having served as a top British official and as an appointed member of an otherwise elected African cabinet. The book is based partly on the author's own diaries but also on public records and the recollections of colleagues, family and friends. It describes how Hastings Banda, an astute African politician, outwitted two Prime Ministers and became a Prime Minister himself in just six years. This is a very readable story, in which the business of government is interspersed with descriptions of the environment and social life of a British civil servant overseas. The narrative does not end with the independence of Malawi--the author maintained his close relations with the country and its formidable president. The latter, Hastings Banda, is shown, in this balanced account, in a far more favorable light than is customary.

Henry Phillips MBE served in the Colonial Administrative Service in Nyasaland before his appointment as Managing Director of Standard Bank's Development Corporation.