On 24 October 1964, the Republic of Zambia was formed, replacing the territory which had formerly been known as Northern Rhodesia. Fifty years on, Andrew Sardanis provides a sympathetic but critical insider's account of Zambia, from independence to the present. He paints a stark picture of Northern Rhodesia at decolonisation and the problems of the incoming government, presented with an immense uphill task of rebuilding the infrastructure of government and administration – civil service, law, local government and economic development.

Sardanis was a minister at the heart of the government and later a highly successful entrepreneur. As a friend and colleague of many of the most prominent names in post-independence Zambia – from the presidencies of founding leader Kenneth Kaunda to the incumbent Michael Sata – he uses his unique eyewitness experience to provide an inside view of a country in transition. He looks at the highs and lows of Zambia's political development: a purposeful beginning followed by many blunders; confusion, at times bordering on chaos, interspersed with flashes of sensible action and good work.

This book provides a detailed examination of the major events in Zambia's history since independence and their effect on the country's development and progress, based on Sardanis's in-depth knowledge of Zambia and its people and the inner workings of its government.