An insider traces the details of hope and ambition gone wrong in the “Giant of Africa,” Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country. When it gained independence from Britain in 1960, hopes were high that, with mineral wealth and over 140 million people, the most educated workforce in Africa, Nigeria would become Africa’s first superpower and a stabilizing democratic influence in the region. However, these lofty hopes were soon dashed and the country lumbered from crisis to crisis, with the dem...

A bold, revelatory history of Nigeria before the British arrived - written by one of the most trusted voices in African historical scholarship.We know what the British did to Nigeria. But what do we know about Nigeria before the British came?'Siollun's books are gripping' - Financial Times'An essential book you’ll want to re-read many times – there is no more eloquent and informed guide than Max Siollun' - Sathnam Sanghera, author of Empirel...

Much is known about what Europeans did in Africa, yet very little is known about Africa's history before its colonization. In this surprising exploration, Max Siollun uncovers societies that were not part of a backward "Dark Continent," but which instead had rich lore to rival the ancient Greeks and Romans.Precolonial West Africa had a mesmerizing cast of revolutionaries, intellectuals, innovators, and villainous assassins. These include the family that overthrew three different 10...

From the legendary author of Things Fall Apart—a long-awaited memoir of coming of age in a fragile new nation, and its destruction in a tragic civil warFor more than forty years, Chinua Achebe maintained a considered silence on the events of the Nigerian civil war, also known as the Biafran War, of 1967–1970, addressing them only obliquely through his poetry. Decades in the making, There Was a Country is a towering account of one of modern Africa’...

The definitive story of African nations after they emerged from colonialism -- from Mugabe's doomed kleptocracy to Mandela's inspiring defeat of apartheid.The Fate of Africa has been hailed by reviewers as "A masterpiece....The nonfiction book of the year" (The New York Post); "a magnificent achievement" (Weekly Standard); "a joy," (Wall Street Journal) and "one of the decade's most important works on Africa" (Publishers Week...

A fearless act of journalism in 1960s Nigeria and the true story behind the international bestselling novel The Dogs of War.The Nigerian civil war of the late 1960s was one of the first occasions when Western consciences were awakened and deeply affronted by the level of suffering and the scale of atrocity being played out in the African continent. This was thanks not just to advances in communication technology but to the courage and journalistic skills o...

Through the last three presidential administrations and two wars with Iraq, no one has personally witnessed, influenced, or fueled news over more history-making events than Joseph Wilson. The last American diplomat to sit face-to-face with Saddam Hussein, he is a consummate insider who has the intelligence, principles, and independence to examine current American foreign policy and the inner workings of government and to form a candid assessment of the United States' involvement in the wor...

In the current Middle East, insurgency tactics are used with frequency and increasing success. But guerrilla war-fare is not just the tool of modern-day terrorists. Its roots stretch back to our very own revolution.In Violent Politics, William Polk takes us on a concise, brilliant tour of insurgencies throughout history, starting with the American struggle for independence, when fighters had to battle against both the British and the loyalists, those colonists who sided wi...

From a new star of American journalism, a riveting murder mystery that reveals the forces roiling today's AfricaFrom Rwanda to Sierra Leone, African countries recovering from tyranny and war are facing an impossible dilemma: to overlook past atrocities for the sake of peace or to seek catharsis through tribunals and truth commissions. Uganda chose the path of forgetting: after Idi Amin's reign was overthrown, the new government opted for amnesty for his henchmen rat...

A fascinating discussion of the development of counterinsurgency by experts in the field.Throughout history armies of occupation and civil power have been faced with the challenges of insurgency. British and American involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan has highlighted this form of conflict in the modern world.Armies have had to adopt new doctrines and tactics to deal with the problems of insurgency and diverse counterinsurgency strategies have been develope...

The Tragedy of Victory: On-the-Spot Account of the Nigeria-Biafra War in the Atlantic Theatre is a chronological narrative of the war that lasted from July 6, 1967 to January 15, 1970. With about 500 photographs and maps and facts, told with accuracy, the well-organised and efficient Third Marine Commandos, earlier commanded by Col. Benjamin Adekunle (with Lt. Col. G. Alabi-Isama, as the Chief of Staff) had already controlled the Atlantic coast from Bonny to Calabar before Col. Olusegun Obas...

"This is a definitive account of the United Nations for a general audience, told by a master." —Jim Hoagland, The Washington PostUnited Nations: A History begins with its creation in 1945. Although the organization was created to prevent war, many conflicts have arisen, ranging from the Korean War, to the Six-Day War, to genocide in Bosnia and Rwanda. Stanley Meisler's in-depth research examines the crises and many key political leaders. In this s...