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Title: The Skull beneath the Skin: Africa after the Cold War by Mark Huband ISBN: 0-8133-3598-1 Publisher: Westview Press Pub. Date: 28 September, 2001 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $30.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3 (3 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Disappointing.....Zzzzzz.....Zzzzzz
Comment: Two disclaimers:
1. I love modern Sub-Saharan African history.
2. I hate it when journalists write history books.
The problem is that the only people really willing to write about modern African history are European journalists, who I have discovered have a not-too-veiled goal of bashing the Post-Cold War American government. The Skull Beneath the Skin was a disappointment for me primarily because Huband (a Brit) tirelessly over-criticized American policy in Africa during and after the Cold War, without taking into account that Great Britain colonized and raped more of Africa in the 1800's (Sudan, South Africa) than the US. Another distractor for me was that the chapters in the book weren't very coherent. For example, Huband started with Mobutu's kleptocracy in Zaire, and then moved to other areas like Liberia and Angola; then he returned to Mobutu's Zaire a few chapters later. Also, Huband's English teacher would be quite miffed: On more than one occasion, Huband constructed an entire paragraph out of one sentence. Look, even if it was gramatically correct, it still doesn't mean you should do it - have some consideration for your reader...I also noted that some of his sources that he qoutes have no names (hum...).
One good quality was the account of Rwanda. Not only is it a harrowing account of the blood-drenched countryside, but he also deals the UN a stinging blow right across the face for its inaction during the 1994 genocide.
Overall, the book is a nice, dry bore. Berkely's "The Graves Are Not Yet Full" or Gourevitch's "We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families" are MUCH better. The Skull Beneath the Skin is a book that you begin to read at night in bed and you can't finish the chapter...Zzzzzz
Rating: 3
Summary: Expected Better
Comment: My expectations on buying this book were that it contained an up-to-date factual synopsis of sub-Saharan Africa in the aftermath of the Cold War. Unfortunately it turned out to be a rather dull collection of obscure political snapshots from the early 1990's and before, presented in mind-numbing detail. It is difficult to work up much of the interest required to follow Huband's desultory meanderings, from 1960's Burundi to 1980's Zaire, which don't seem to have any unifying theme, other than the prosaic anti-Americanism favored by foreign journalists.
The book was published just prior to 9/11, when it was fashionable to criticize the U.S. for being overly obsessed with international terrorists (which Huband actually does). Other mistakes abound, such as claiming that the killing of Pakistani troops proved a non-Islamic motive for Somali opposition to the UN, which would have come as a surprise to the thousands of Muslim soldiers and policemen who lose their lives to such fundamentalists every year in a broad range of countries, including Pakistan.
The U.S., which has never colonized a square inch of Africa, is nevertheless criticized for every ill affecting the continent. As Huband tells it, there is not a single American endeavor that was neither negligent nor malicious. Even obviously well intentioned efforts, such as the Somali relief operation are deemed misguided, though not because of the corruption and religious bigotry that obviously fueled the resistance, but rather due to the fact that Americans are too arrogant to listen to people like Mark Huband, who would evidently provide splendid leadership if they so deigned.
Other than an interesting chapter on French intervention, tacked on as kind of an afterthought, there is nothing that would inspire me to recommend this book. It comes off as neither current events nor history, but rather just another young and egotistical journalist taking easy potshots at those who had the courage to act without his benefit of hindsight.
Rating: 4
Summary: The Ramifications of the Cold War Upon Africa
Comment: Huband's investigative book on the travails of post-Cold War Africa is a good demonstration of the evolution, especially within the journalistic environment, that has occurred over the past decade; the discussions on touchy issues such as "ethnic" conflict (especially in Rwanda) and corruption are more refined, and the accusations of "great powers'" meddling more scathing.
The chapters are arranged in a way which cannot fail but to reveal to the reader how Africa, as an idea, is really more a series of loosely connected "sub-regions" - North Africa, the Great Lakes, Southern Africa.
I found that reading Mahmood Mamdani's enlightening, though slightly repetitive When Victims Become Killers (Princeton UP) before tackling Huband's book was quite helpful, as it, too, addresses the concepts of "race," "ethnicity," and lack of democracy (with the attendant corruption within state institutions). Reading both around the same time is sure to provide the reader a nuanced and in my opinion honest perspective on Africa.
What I find utterly annoying in Huband's book, however, are the numerous quotes in French, most of which are plagued with misspelled words, over capitalization, and bad syntax. These quotes are superficial (the translations, which always follow within parentheses, would have sufficed) and give the reader the impression that the author is attempting to impress us with his (amputated) command of the French language. A consequence of this is that the errors they contain are downright distracting to those who, like myself, know French.
There are better, more complete, books in which to learn the histories of the various conflicts that have plagued the African continent since the Cold War. But as an analysis of the political ramifications of the great power chess game upon the African people, Huband's book is worthy of our undivided attention. Moreover, his emphasis on corrupt, undemocratic governments in Africa is a powerful corrective (though he doesn't address this issue directly) to those in favor of debt forgiveness for highly indebted poor countries (HIPC).
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Title: Aid to Africa: So Much to Do, So Little Done by Carol Lancaster ISBN: 0226468399 Publisher: University of Chicago Press Pub. Date: 01 April, 1999 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
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Title: The United States and Africa: A Post-Cold War Perspective by David F. Gordon, David C. Miller, Howard Wolpe, American Assembly ISBN: 0393318176 Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: 01 May, 1998 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: African Foreign Policies by Stephen Wright ISBN: 0813324076 Publisher: Westview Press Pub. Date: 01 October, 1998 List Price(USD): $32.00 |
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Title: Africa and the International System : The Politics of State Survival (Cambridge Studies in International Relations) by Christopher Clapham, Steve Smith, Thomas Biersteker, Chris Brown, Phil Cerny, Joseph Grieco, A. J. R. Groom ISBN: 0521576687 Publisher: Cambridge University Press Pub. Date: 12 September, 1996 |
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Title: Conflicting Missions: Havana, Washington, and Africa, 1959-1976 by Piero Gleijeses ISBN: 0807854646 Publisher: University of North Carolina Press Pub. Date: 24 February, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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