saralynnburnett's review against another edition
3.0
The title of this book includes the word 'short' - and it is, but WOW is it DENSE. It took me forever to read because it is packed with people, events, and acronyms that kept me flipping back to the glossary several times on each page (for example: SLA vs SPLA vs SLA W vs SLA M) that said - if you slow down and take the time to absorb the detail this book does do a good job of explaining the roots of this conflict, which is something western news sources fail to do. The best chapters dealt with how anglo- egyptian colonization developed much of the rest of the nation and left Darfur without a even a road to the nearest market, so of course this region is going to attract conflict due simply to the peoples' economic weakness. Another enlightening chapter was about the Janjawiid and how they are a proxy for Khartoum. I was surprised that China wasn't mentioned in the book since I understand that they have oil interests in the region and I was also surprised at the lack of information about the humanitarian crisis (though the authors did do a great job of explaining how governments are manipulating aid and using it as a weapon against those who need it). If you are looking for a book that explains the major players and political activities that have lead to the crisis then this is it.
saralynnburnett's review
3.0
The title of this book includes the word 'short' - and it is, but WOW is it DENSE. It took me forever to read because it is packed with people, events, and acronyms that kept me flipping back to the glossary several times on each page (for example: SLA vs SPLA vs SLA W vs SLA M) that said - if you slow down and take the time to absorb the detail this book does do a good job of explaining the roots of this conflict, which is something western news sources fail to do. The best chapters dealt with how anglo- egyptian colonization developed much of the rest of the nation and left Darfur without a even a road to the nearest market, so of course this region is going to attract conflict due simply to the peoples' economic weakness. Another enlightening chapter was about the Janjawiid and how they are a proxy for Khartoum. I was surprised that China wasn't mentioned in the book since I understand that they have oil interests in the region and I was also surprised at the lack of information about the humanitarian crisis (though the authors did do a great job of explaining how governments are manipulating aid and using it as a weapon against those who need it). If you are looking for a book that explains the major players and political activities that have lead to the crisis then this is it.
expendablemudge's review
4.0
Rating: 3.5* of five
A very good potted history of a horrible, horrible humanitarian disaster. It made me feel ill as I read it. Humanity is irredeemable, I fear.
A very good potted history of a horrible, horrible humanitarian disaster. It made me feel ill as I read it. Humanity is irredeemable, I fear.
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