African Interest

The sequel to Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight. In her twenties Alexandra Fuller embarked on a new journey, into a long, tempestuous marriage to Charlie Ross..., The love of her life. In this frank, personal memoir, she charts their twenty years together, from the brutal beauty of the Zambezi to the mountains of Wyoming – the new adventures, the unexplored paths, the insurmountable obstacles… and the many signals that they missed along the way. ISBN:2147483647 Author:Alexandra Fuller

Brief Summary 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 war For more than forty years, Chinua Achebe has 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. Now, decades in the making, comes a towering account of one of modern Africa’s most disastrous events, from a writer whose words and courage have left an enduring stamp on world literature. A marriage of history and memoir, vivid firsthand observation and decades of research and reflection, There Was a Country is a work whose wisdom and compassion remind us of Chinua Achebe’s place as one of the great literary and moral voices of our age. ISBN:2147483647 Author:Chinua Achebe

Brief Summary An inspirational and moving memoir from a woman who survived the Rwandan genocide and uses her experiences to become an agent of change Leah Chishugi grew up in eastern Congo but moved at the age of 17 to Kigali, the Rwandan capital, to work as a model. She married and had a son. When in 1994 she was caught up in the horrific conflict, she escaped only after being left for dead under a pile of corpses. She fled with her son to Uganda, then South Africa, where she was miraculously reunited with her husband whom she believed dead. Leah finally settled in the UK where she was granted asylum and became a nurse. After her mother died, Leah decided to set up a charity to help the women and children of eastern Congo—victims of continuing war atrocities. This is a deeply courageous narrative of one woman's survival of personal trauma and finding a greater purpose in life through devotion to the service of others. " ISBN:2147483647 Author:Leah Chishugi

Brief summary The devastating story of war through the eyes of a child soldier. Beah tells how, at the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he’d been picked up by the government army, and became a soldier. My new friends have begun to suspect I haven’t told them the full story of my life. "Why did you leave Sierra Leone?” "Because there is a war.” "You mean, you saw people running around with guns and shooting each other?” "Yes, all the time.” "Cool.” I smile a little. "You should tell us about it sometime.” "Yes, sometime.” This is how wars are fought now: by children, hopped-up on drugs and wielding AK-47s. Children have become soldiers of choice. In the more than fifty conflicts going on worldwide, it is estimated that there are some 300,000 child soldiers. Ishmael Beah used to be one of them. What is war like through the eyes of a child soldier? How does one become a killer? How does one stop? Child soldiers have been profiled by journalists, and novelists have struggled to imagine their lives. But until now, there has not been a first-person account from someone who came through this hell and survived. In A Long Way Gone, Beah, now twenty-five years old, tells a riveting story: how at the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he’d been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts. This is a rare and mesmerizing account, told with real literary force and heartbreaking honesty. ISBN:2147483647 Author:Ishmael Beah

Brief Summary Mende Nazer lost her childhood at age twelve, when she was sold into slavery. It all began one horrific night in 1993, when Arab raiders swept through her Nuba village, murdering the adults and rounding up thirty-one children, including Mende. Mende was sold to a wealthy Arab family who lived in Sudan's capital city, Khartoum. So began her dark years of enslavement. Her Arab owners called her "Yebit," or "black slave." She called them "master." She was subjected to appalling physical, sexual, and mental abuse. She slept in a shed and ate the family leftovers like a dog. She had no rights, no freedom, and no life of her own. Normally, Mende's story never would have come to light. But seven years after she was seized and sold into slavery, she was sent to work for another master—a diplomat working in the United Kingdom. In London, she managed to make contact with other Sudanese, who took pity on her. In September 2000, she made a dramatic break for freedom. Slave is a story almost beyond belief. It depicts the strength and dignity of the Nuba tribe. It recounts the savage way in which the Nuba and their ancient culture are being destroyed by a secret modern-day trade in slaves. Most of all, it is a remarkable testimony to one young woman's unbreakable spirit and tremendous courage. ISBN:9781586483180 Author:Mende Nazer and Damien Lewis