From the Edge of Empire

Born into the fading twilight of the British Empire in Rhodesia,
Ian Hume grew up in a world of sunlit farms, racial division, political uncertainty,
and gathering revolution. What began as an idyllic childhood in colonial Africa
would soon collide with the realities of war, nationalism, and the collapse of white
minority rule. From those turbulent beginnings emerged a remarkable journey of reinvention,
intellect, and global influence.

From the Edge of Empire is an extraordinary memoir that
spans continents, ideologies, and historic transformations. Leaving school early
to join the Rhodesian Federal Army, Hume was commissioned at Britain’s Royal Military
Academy Sandhurst before eventually finding his way to the University of Cape Town
and Oxford University, where he earned a doctorate in economics. Recruited to the
World Bank in 1969, he went on to become a pioneering economist and senior executive
during some of the most consequential political and economic transitions of the
twentieth century.

Along the way, Hume became the World Bank’s first economist to
study labor migration in Europe, helped pioneer the use of the Gini Ratio to measure
income inequality, led the Bank’s first mission to Hungary, and later directed traumatic
institutional restructuring  within the Bank
itself during a period of major downsizing. He served at the center of post-communist
reform in Poland, witnessing and assisting firsthand the transformation from socialism
to market economies in Eastern Europe while regretting the opposite transition in
his homeland as Rhodesia’s market economy collapsed into modern socialist Zimbabwe.

Yet this memoir is far more than a distinguished professional
history. At its heart lies a deeply personal story about family, courage, education,
and moral independence. Hume writes openly about the contradictions of colonial
Africa, the failures of political extremism on all sides, and the lifelong search
for moral clarity in a world dominated by ideology, self-interest and group-think.

Rich in historical insight, emotional honesty, humor, and unforgettable
characters, From the Edge of Empire offers readers a rare firsthand account
of twentieth-century history as lived from the inside. It is a powerful memoir for
anyone interested in African history, political change, economic development, leadership,
resilience, and the enduring human capacity to adapt, persevere, and build a meaningful
life against overwhelming odds.