Book Description

When eight-year-old Adelino Serras Pires first arrived on a boat from Portugal in 1936, Mozambique was a tropical paradise, where native tribes and Portuguese colonists lived in harmony, and vast jungles held the promise of endless excitement. A few months into Adelino's new life, his father took him along on a successful hunt for maneating 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 major safari organizer with a client list comprised of African royalty, European dignitaries and wealthy Americans alike. Soon, though, 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 Adelino was forced to pack up his operations. What follows is a frightening look at a continent under siege. As Adelino moved throughout sub-Saharan Africa-- each time resuming his life's ambition-- 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 Mozambique prison, which 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 are now gone forever.