The Winds of Havoc: A Memoir of Adventure and Destruction in Deepest Africa

By Adelino Serras Pires and Fiona Capstick

Book Overview

When eight-year-old Adelino Serras Pires first arrived on a boat from Portugal in 1936, Mozambique seemed to be something out of a dream: It was a tropical paradise, where native tribes and Portuguese colonists lived in harmony, and the vast jungles, teeming with wildlife, held the promise of endless excitement. A few months into Adelino's new life, his father took him along on a successful hunt for man-eating lions that had been terrorizing the countryside. From that point on, Adelino's destiny was sealed: He would spend his days in the African bush, hunting for a living, and living for adventure. After a childhood wrought with thrilling episodes, Adelino became a primary safari organizer in Mozambique, with a client list comprised of African royalty, European dignitaries, and wealthy Americans alike. At the same time, the Uhuru movement took hold of Africa, fueled from the outside. Tribes across the continent began to rebel against European control. In Mozambique, the Frelimo party, bent on ousting the Portuguese colonists, launched guerilla attacks throughout the land. Such attacks resulted in the violent death and injuries of several safari clients, and soon Adelino was forced to pack up his operations. What follows is a frightening look at a continent under siege. As Adelino moved from one country to the next - Angola, Rhodesia, the Central African Republic, Kenya, Sudan, Zaire, and Tanzania -- each time resuming his life's ambition, while desperately struggling to remain uninvolved in each new conflict, he repeatedly witnessed the violence and horror of civil war. Like a hunter stalking its prey, it was only a matter of time before the forces of revolution brought him down, too. That day came when Adelino, his son, his nephew, and a fellow hunter were abducted in Tanzania, and turned over to the secret police in now-Frelimo-controlled Mozambique. In hair-raising detail, Adelino recounts months of torture and interrogation in a Mozambican prison that almost cost him his life, and the traitorous circumstances that landed him there. The Winds of Havoc is the story of Adelino's steady disillusionment, as the beauty of Africa slowly gave way to political turmoil and corruption. But more than that, it's a moving portrait of a life and time that is now gone forever. AUTHORBIO: Adelino Serras Pires was born in Portugal in 1928. He has organized hunting and photographic safaris in several African countries. He is now retired, and resides in South Africa.Fiona Claire Capstick was born in South Africa. After attending several European Universities, she returned to her birthplace and eventually served as an officer in the armed forces of South Africa, seconded to the military intelligence division as a multilingual translator and interpreter. She is currently serving as a sworn translator to the High Court of South Africa. Her late husband, Peter Hathaway Capstick, was the author of highly acclaimed safari accounts such as Death in the Long Grass and Safari: The Last Adventure.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312270038
• ISBN13: 9780312270032
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 265 Pages
• Weight: 1.27 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.8" x 1.3" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

Shocking Revelations

If there is a single book that informs and clarifies issues pertaining to Africa, from European colonization to the new millennium, this is the one. I am a seasoned collector of books on Africa. Nothing on my shelves, however, can compare with The Winds of Havoc. Adelino SERRAS PIRES and Fiona CAPSTICK have an intimate knowledge of Africa and I personally know many of the people mentioned in this book. I also had the honor of working with Adelino in Africa in the 1980s. This book confirms the courage and honesty he has retained throughout his turbulent life, qualities he never abandoned when many other people would have been tempted to give in to their tormentors. There are shocking revelations in this book as the reader is taken on a unique odyssey into many African countries, witnessing the fate of the wildlife as the winds of change became gales of violence which spared nothing and nobody. The book is an education. Adelino's extraordinary life and Fiona Capstick's ability with words make this book a compelling, disturbing experience. Buy it before the first printing sells out!

Lies exposed

I am black and I am angry. I live in Africa, The Winds of Havoc has been a revelation because finally, the lies that went with the turf of our liberation are beginning to be exposed. This book is a good start, I salute you Adelino Serras Pires

Gripping, love and pain, lots and lots of truth

The Winds of Havoc is much more than an adventure or hunting novel. I want to congratulate the authors Fiona and Adelino on a very special, genuine and valuable contribution to the modern history of Mozambique, and also of post-colonial Africa generally. From my experience as a scholar of contemporary Mozambican affairs, as an active participant in the Mozambique peace process 1989-1995, and as Special Advisor to the then Special Representative of the Secretary General of the UN, Mr Aldo Ajello, I can recommend this book as essential reading. But most of all, it reads easily and really well. It takes you on a journey of adventure and passion and tragedy, and I found it impossible to put it down before I had come to the last page.

The Winds of Havoc is a Grand Slam

Fiona and Adelina have hit a bases loaded home run! Adelino, I am so sorry that humanity can treat others so badly. Your days incarcerated, cold, hungry and with your hands and feet hurting so bad, brought tears to my eyes. What a horrible injustice.If you do not know anything about East African history, particularly Mozambique, this book will show the "Havoc" that occured at this time in Africa between two factions. This is a book makes you get a map out to see where these stories take place. You find that you want to read over at least once again.Art Gonzalez

A Revelation

A riveting tale of bloodshed, conspiracy and the ultimate betrayal spanning over the entire african continent. "The Winds of Havoc" inspires an interesting read. A literary masterpiece of ambiguity. This book opens a doorway onto unspoken corruption in a lawless land. It will indeed inspire a mind to seek the truth.