Walking the Rift

"Demythologizing the pseudo giants and the corresponding pseudo dwarfs of the imperialist era is the working principle of Joan Mattia's fascinating study. In the end, there are neither dwarfs nor giants, but human beings. And at that point the talking begins."

--Werner Ustorf, Professor Emeritus, Birmingham University



"Contemporary versions of colonial-era mission activity often come in the form of international aid and development efforts. Those involved who are honest with themselves will experience tensions of the sort Walking the Rift identifies in the life of Bishop Alfred Tucker. By examining meaning-making behind this nineteenth-century missionary's actions, Mattia's fine work offers guidance for current international workers uncovering their own cultural assumptions--and wisdom for living with what they find."

--Elizabeth C. Parsons, Author of What Price for Privatization? Cultural Encounter with Development Policy on the Zambian Copperbelt



"Though I was born a full 35 years after his death, my parents named me Tucker, after East Africa's third Anglican bishop, by then already a legend. When my grandfather Yeremiya Jagenda died in Boga, Congo, while on a mission there with Apolo Kivebulaya, Bishop Tucker helped my father to train as a primary school teacher. . . . Joan Mattia's discerning study explores the nuances and contradictions with deep respect for one who was both a man of his time and well ahead of it. I commend this book."

--John Tucker Mugabi Sentamu, Archbishop of York