From Publishers Weekly
"This is a book about evil." With these words, Berkeley launches into a gripping exploration of some of the worst African atrocities of the past 20 years, which he has covered as a journalist for the Atlantic Monthly and other publications. Focusing on several flash points the genocide in Rwanda, the political violence in Zaire and South Africa's apartheid killings, for instance he avers that the violence that has permeated these societies is born of the same evil that motivated Hitler to kill six million Jews: racially and ethnically based tyranny, which, he says, is the result of Western colonization, not "age-old" hatreds. Berkeley is at his best when he is reporting; he conducted interviews with African leaders, such as Liberia's Charles Taylor, with ordinary people and with high-level American officials involved in formulating African policy, like former Assistant Secretary of State Chester A. Crocker. He is particularly effective at pointing out the links between longstanding Western attitudes and policy and Africa's atrocities ("Tribalism solved the colonial dilemma of how to dominate and exploit vast numbers of indigenous inhabitants with a limited number of colonial agents"), and he shows how maniacal tyrants have exploited ethnic divisions. But the reader is still left wondering how so many people could have taken part in the mass killing of their own countrymen. Though Berkeley writes that "most African tribes live side by side without conflict," the book leaves the opposite impression. (Apr. 1)Forecast: This is one of several books about Africa due out this spring. Perhaps the critical mass will turn the interest of serious readers toward that strife-ridden continent. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Berkeley (writing, Columbia Univ.) has reported on African affairs for more than a decade. This moving, disturbing work focuses on recent examples of tyranny and civil disorder in Liberia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Africa, the Sudan, and Rwanda. Berkeley argues that the pain, suffering, and genocide in these nations were not the result of some mysterious primitive African tribal conflict. Rather, they came about because "Big Men," often supported by the United States, exploited ethnic tensions to create chaos from which they would allegedly "rescue" their societies. The only dim hope for these countries lies in "fledgling attempts to build institutions of law and accountability." Berkeley combines his reporting experience with first-rate historical analysis in a beautifully written, powerful examination of contemporary horrors. Recommended for all libraries. A.O. Edmonds, Ball State Univ., Muncie, IN Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Berkeley, who has reported on Africa for a decade, acknowledges the white attitudes that ethnic strife there results from "some mysterious, exotic savagery." He rebuts that attitude, however, examining individual villains in the horrific ethnic conflicts in Liberia, Congo-Zaire, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda, and Rwanda; and in his reporting on and interviews with the big men behind the conflicts, he provides insight into the struggles' origins and evolution. His subjects include a Liberian rebel who exploits differences in pursuit of power; a black South African who, during apartheid, exploited Zulu nationalism to advance his own and the white regime's interests; and the mayor of a small Rwandan town who blindly obeyed orders to commit and promote genocide. Berkeley looks beyond the image of Africans as an undifferentiated mass of victims to highlight the opportunistic and venal men who make use of combustible environments and the determined individuals struggling to resist them. He also examines the effects of colonialism and American private interests on the exploitation of ethnic tensions in Africa. Vanessa Bush
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"A smart and broad introduction to the political crisis in Africa."



"A gripping exploration of some of the worst African atrocities of the past twenty years."



"A superb book by a journalist who has penetrated to the heart and the mind of darkness in Africa."

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"You will understand Africa differently after reading this book...the richly reported stories he tells to make his case are unforgettable." —William Finnegan.
Since 1983 journalist Bill Berkeley has traveled through Africa's most troubled lands—Rwanda, Liberia, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda, and Zaire—seeking out the tyrants and military leaders who orchestrate seemingly intractable wars. Shattering the myth that ancient tribal hatred lies at the heart of the continent's troubles, Berkeley instead holds accountable the "Big Men" who came to power during this period, describing the very rational methods behind their apparent madness.
A New Republic Book
—New York Times Book Review
—Publishers Weekly
—David Rieff, Los Angeles Times
—Aryeh Neier

FROM THE CRITICS

David Rieff

Can be read as a kind of African codicil to Hannah Arendt's celebrated argument...a tour de force, and as reporting it is essential reading for anyone concerned with understanding Africa. —Los Angeles Times

Aryeh Neier

A superb book by a journalist who has penetrated to the heart and the mind of darkness in Africa.

New York Times Book Review

A smart and broad introduction to the political crisis in Africa.

ACCREDITATION