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16th out of 85 books
—
20 voters
Another Day of Life
In 1975, Angola was tumbling into pandemonium; everyone who could was packing crates, desperate to abandon the beleaguered colony. With his trademark bravura, Ryszard Kapuscinski went the other way, begging his was from Lisbon and comfort to Luanda--once famed as Africa's Rio de Janeiro--and chaos.
Angola, a slave colony later given over to mining and plantations, was a pr...more
Angola, a slave colony later given over to mining and plantations, was a pr...more
Paperback, 148 pages
Published
May 1st 2010
by Penguin Books, Limited (UK)
(first published 1976)
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In 1975, Angola was tumbling into pandemonium; everyone who could was packing crates, desperate to abandon the beleaguered colony. With his trademark bravura, Ryszard Kapuscinski went the other way, begging his was from Lisbon and comfort to Luanda—once famed as Africa's Rio de Janeiro—and chaos.Angola, a slave colony later given over to mining and plantations, was a promised land for generations of poor Portuguese. It had belonged to Portugal since before there were English-speakers in North Am
...more
Sep 06, 2012
Phil Williams
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Those looking for a memorable impression of the tragic absurdity of modern war.
Before I read this book I knew almost nothing about Angola, and picked it up as part of my attempts to broaden my knowledge of Africa. By the time I reached the final chapter I still knew almost nothing about Angola, but had obtained a number of unforgettable images of the universal impacts of modern warfare.
Though the events take place in 1975, Kapusciniski's rather brief but memorable notes on the war in Angola have a timeless element. The abandoned city, the haphazard roadblocks and the uncer...more
Though the events take place in 1975, Kapusciniski's rather brief but memorable notes on the war in Angola have a timeless element. The abandoned city, the haphazard roadblocks and the uncer...more
Another Day of Life is beautiful, surreal, and tragic reportage from Angola at the bloody birth of that nation that is also imbued with a non-grating sense of something close to whimsy. The country dropped as a colony by the fleeing Portuguese is torn between three armies and their allies fighting a proxy war (Cuba, Zaire(now DRC,), South Africa.) Filled with wonderful described moments and written with sense of atmosphere and perfect details. The fine moments are almost too many to point out an...more
Nov 16, 2011
Michael
added it
"People are sitting on bundles covered with plastic because it's drizzling. They are meditating, pondering everything. In this abandoned crowd that has been vegetating here for weeks, the spark of revolt sometimes flashes. Women beat up the soldiers designated to maintain order, and men try to hijack a plane to let the world know what despair they've been driven to. Nobody knows when they will fly out or in or in what direction. A cosmic mess prevails. Organization comes hard to the Portuguese,...more
Impressionistic account of the last days of Portuguese rule in the last European colony in Africa. Kapuściński was in Luanda, the capital and traveled around territory controlled (often temporarily) by the MPLA, the liberation movement that was supported by the USSR and Cuba. As a Warsaw Pact journalist his accreditation if not his sympathies were to them. The MPLA was at war with UNITA in the north which was supported by Mobutu's Zaire--and therefor by the U.S. and France which funded Mobutu fo...more
A classic of reportage, this book provides a staggering historical snapshot of a crucial turning point in global history - Angola, on the point of independence, serving as a theatre of war between the USA and USSR, with those superpowers' respective attack dogs - Apartheid era South Africa and Castro's Cuba - doing the dirty work by proxy.
That the country has since functioned to a degree thanks to oil riches and, latterly, Chinese philanthropy, as well as the tough mindedness of its own proud ci...more
That the country has since functioned to a degree thanks to oil riches and, latterly, Chinese philanthropy, as well as the tough mindedness of its own proud ci...more
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First time reading Kapuscinski. He's a Polish journalist who covered Africa for much of the last half of the Twentieth Century (among other places, I think he has a book on Iran as well), and this particular book covers the Angolan war for independence in the fall of 1975.
I picked it up randomly, and found myself immersed in a war that mattered intensely and briefly for the world at large, and rapidly became a parochial affair that has smoldered ever since. It's embarrassing to talk so bluntly...more
I picked it up randomly, and found myself immersed in a war that mattered intensely and briefly for the world at large, and rapidly became a parochial affair that has smoldered ever since. It's embarrassing to talk so bluntly...more
Re-reading my favorite Kapuscinski books in conjunction with his newly released biography. Another Day of Life is up there with Michael Herr's Dispatches as one of the great impressionistic accounts of war. The Portugese are fleeing Angola as independence approaches, packing generations' of accumulated possessions -- right down to the curtains -- into enormous wooden crates. Three indigenous armies backed by various foreign powers are in a race to seize the capital, Luanda. Kapuscinski sketches...more
I never thought a Polish journalist's first-hand account of civil war in Angola in the 1970s would be so beautifully written that I'd wake up in the night, turn the light on and have to finish the book, but it had me gripped like that. Am now an utter convert to Kapuscinski's writing about Africa. Astonishing.
Another Day of Life is a very well-written account of very important but seldom remembered conflict in Angola that was really a war of ideology, filled with warrior-poets, opportunists revolutionaries and sell-outs. It recalls the enormous potential of of post-colonial africa without shying away from its practical failure. What Kapuscinski lacks is a more in-depth examination of the relationships in the conflict. The subtle themes are there but he could have gone further. Of particular interest...more
A snapshot of Angolan history. In 1974, the Portuguese pulled out of their colony of Angola, leaving behind a leadership vacuum. White Portuguese colonists, eager to avoid what was likely to be a nasty civil war, scrambled to leave the country with their families. Here enters journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski, who begs to be stationed in Angola's capital city, Luanda, so he can report on the conditions there. Kapuscinski spends several months living in a decrepit hotel with a handful of other Portu...more
'War is a reality only to those stuck in its bloody, dreadful, filthy insides.'
A glimpse of Angola as it was about to be granted independence by the Portuguese in 1975, and the civil war that was just beginning (and would last for another 27 or so years). AsKapuściński says, one cannot really understand a war unless one experiences it for itself, which is perhaps especially true for those of us who are lucky enough to have never been close to one at all. But for some small moments, you can under...more
A glimpse of Angola as it was about to be granted independence by the Portuguese in 1975, and the civil war that was just beginning (and would last for another 27 or so years). AsKapuściński says, one cannot really understand a war unless one experiences it for itself, which is perhaps especially true for those of us who are lucky enough to have never been close to one at all. But for some small moments, you can under...more
Un valido libro da cesso, poco impegnativo e di lettura scorrevole, voto: 4 tazze. Dovr� leggere qualcos'altro di Kapuscinki, perch� se mi dovessi basare solo su questo lo troverei decisamente sopravvalutato, rispetto a tutte le ottime opinioni che leggo su di lui: per dire, a mio parere e tanto per rimanere in Italia, come scrittori sul campo Indro Montanelli e Tiziano Terzani erano giganti nello stile e nel racconto della situazione rispetto al buon Kapu, proprio non c'� paragone; ma quest'ult...more
"Il mondo contempla il grande spettacolo di lotta e di morte che, oltretutto, non riesce assolutamente a immaginare, perché il volto della guerra non é comunicabile. Né con la penna, né a voce, né con la macchina da presa. La guerra è una realtà solo per chi sta conficcato tra le sue sporche, disgustose e sanguinolente interior. Per gli altri è solo una pagina di libro, un’immagine sullo schermo."
"Quando non si riesce a capire una situazione e si desidera spiegarla, si presta ascolto alle diceri...more
"Quando non si riesce a capire una situazione e si desidera spiegarla, si presta ascolto alle diceri...more
This was my third of RK's books, all read in pretty close succession on the recommendation of a dear and beautiful friend.
I remember news coverage of the trial and subsequent executions of European mercenaries - one of my earliest memories of any news story - and Another Day of Life rekindled my dormant fascination for that brutal time.
RK combines a rare capacity for superb narrative with the determination to get the story from real people, rather than from their political chieftains.
A wonderfu...more
I remember news coverage of the trial and subsequent executions of European mercenaries - one of my earliest memories of any news story - and Another Day of Life rekindled my dormant fascination for that brutal time.
RK combines a rare capacity for superb narrative with the determination to get the story from real people, rather than from their political chieftains.
A wonderfu...more
Jan 07, 2011
Sergio Frosini
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
africana,
donne-dududu-in-cerca-di-guai
Diciamolo, inizialmente temevo fosse una delle solite operazioni "l'autore vendeva ed è morto, pubblichiamo anche le sue liste della spesa." Invece si tratta di uno dei tanti splendidi reportages africani di Kapuscinski, questa volta sulla guerra in Angola nel 1975.
Breve ma intenso racconto degli ultimi giorni dell'Angola portoghese, ancora non ufficialmente indipendente e trascinata dalla guerra coloniale alla guerra civile, alimentata fra gli altri dagli ingombranti vicini Zaire e Sudafrica. U
...more
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jim Sherman
Date: Oct 20, 2007 11:32 AM
Subject: graw
To: jim.sherman@gmail.com
Kapuscnski Another Day of Life
Crates, a city of crates that sails away
then checkpoints (1)
and then carlotta
then invasion and indepdence
then cubans
then seige of Luanda
then return home
after an unsatisfying audience with Neto
then home
and then DonaCartagina a weak leitmotif.
(1) True, the authority of Luanda is great -- but then doesn't the checkpoint also constitute authority? a...more
Reportage from Ryszard Kapuściński's journey to Angola in middle of 1970s. Til 1975 Angola was Portuguese colony. In 1975 after 14 years of guerilla fights Angola became independent country. Kapuściński showed the evacuation of the Portuguse who were living and working in Angola. Country was torn between three parties:
a) MPLA - Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (The Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola);
b) UNITA - União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola (The National...more
a) MPLA - Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (The Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola);
b) UNITA - União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola (The National...more
Reportage from Ryszard Kapuściński's journey to Angola in middle of 1970s. Til 1975 Angola was Portuguese colony. In 1975 after 14 years of guerilla fights Angola became independent country. Kapuściński showed the evacuation of the Portuguse who were living and working in Angola. Country was torn between three parties:
a) MPLA - Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (The Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola);
b) UNITA - União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola (The National...more
a) MPLA - Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (The Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola);
b) UNITA - União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola (The National...more
EM PORTUGUÊS: Situado na Angola desgarrada pela guerra, nos meses prévios à declaração da independência, isto é também parte da história de Portugal, do imenso êxodo de meio milhão de Portugueses e dos que lá ficaram e decidiram abraçar a nova nacionalidade. E tudo, com o selo característico do sempre interessante Kapuściński.
IN ENGLISH: Set in a chaotic and war-torn Angola during the three months previous to the declaration of independence, this is also part of the history of Portugal.
The read...more
IN ENGLISH: Set in a chaotic and war-torn Angola during the three months previous to the declaration of independence, this is also part of the history of Portugal.
The read...more
''In old Lisbon Angola was referred as the pais "dos degrados"....
This is one of the most impressive documents about the civil war in Angola, Kapuscinski confirmed to be probably the best international journalist of the last century, always in the front line and able to produce high quality reportage. It is not just a journalistic piece, it is history, it is literature.
Angola now is often referred for the new waves of western business colonization looking for oil and diamonds but its history wil...more
This is one of the most impressive documents about the civil war in Angola, Kapuscinski confirmed to be probably the best international journalist of the last century, always in the front line and able to produce high quality reportage. It is not just a journalistic piece, it is history, it is literature.
Angola now is often referred for the new waves of western business colonization looking for oil and diamonds but its history wil...more
A quick read that paints a very nice portrait of what being a foreign correspondent was like in 1975 Angola, which is likely parallel to many war scenarios. The book is marvelously descriptive (something which is owed to both Kapuscinski and the translator from its original Polish.) It's weak point is perhaps a lack of perspective from the non-Communist sides of the conflict. In all though, it's a book you can read in a day and worth the time.
At his best Ryszard Kapuscinski does not write to us about the mystery of life; instead, he shows us something inexplicable and in it we recognize life. Another Day of Life describes the chaotic events he witnessed in Angola in 1975. Despite the impossibility of any sort of front that could be described by a line—the terrain fostered a conflict of points instead of shapes—sides have been chosen and the young are introduced to the fighting which will probably consume their lives. There is somethi...more
I'm not born yesterday. I know that Kapuscinski played a deeper role in the MPLA than he would've liked to admit, and that much of his writing works as state propaganda. If you take his point of view with a grain of salt, you still have a memorable, fascinating look at the beginnings of the Angolan Civil War.
Oddly enough, a good companion piece/rebuttal might be the Jack Abramoff produced Dolph Lundgren action film "Red Scorpion".
Oddly enough, a good companion piece/rebuttal might be the Jack Abramoff produced Dolph Lundgren action film "Red Scorpion".
Reminiscent of Philip Gourevitch's "We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families: Stories From Rwanda". Much less gore, more scattered fights with much less organisation. What is appalling is the narrative of the Portugese colonisation, its slave trade and the systematic destruction of Angola.
As with every genocide, internal war, the world waits and watches, respecting sovereign rights. But for 350 years...
As with every genocide, internal war, the world waits and watches, respecting sovereign rights. But for 350 years...
This book, published in 2001, is about an uprising in Angola. Our author, a foreign correspondent for a Polish communist newspaper, takes us on his travels, to the front line and surrounding areas. Danger always seems imminent but Kapuscinski grounds us with wit and the mundane of daily life at a time when everything seems impossible. It's an incredible book and I'm looking forward to reading more by him.
Nov 29, 2009
Charlotte
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
best-of-the-best,
wonderful-non-fiction
ACK! This is such a great book. Angola! Civil war! Independence! And a crazy journalist bent on seeing it all. Seriously, I adore Kapuscinski's style--so matter of fact, and so incredible at the same time. He keeps saying he was afraid, but secretly, you don't know whether to believe him or not. I believe he SHOULD have been afraid, and that I would have been petrified. Africa seems very hot.
Malinconico. Ho rivissuto quei momenti di un anno fa quando attraversavo i posti di blocco tra Rawalpindi ed Islamabad. Il mitragliatore puntato addosso; lo sguardo indagatore delle sentinelle. Non mi � piaciuta la manifesta partigianeria, per altro necessaria per viaggiare in un paese in guerra. Meriterebbe una mezza stella in pi�.
a polish journalist's account of the withdrawal of portugal from colonial angola and the beginning of angolan independence. this book is remarkable because the author is evidently a serious adrenaline junkie. before the advent of base jumping, i guess you had to become a journalist and insinuate yourself into the middle of a war zone to have a good time. the polish journalistic perspective on a post-colonial conflict (a hot front of the cold war) is also interesting. i haven't read that many acc...more
Important portrayal of the now-forgotten civil war in Angola, though I wished RK delved deeper into the political parties and the conflict itself, without that it reads like what it is, a thoughtful but ultimately thin report. I wanted more.
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Ryszard Kapuściński debuted as a poet in Dziś i jutro at the age of 17 and has been a journalist, writer, and publicist. In 1964 he was appointed to the Polish Press Agency and began traveling around the developing world and reporting on wars, coups and revolutions in Asia, the Americas, and Europe; he lived through twenty-seven revolutions and coups, was jailed forty times, and survived four deat...more
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“Choćby otaczał nas ocean zła, będą z niego wystawać zielone i żyzne wysepki. Widać je, są na horyzoncie. Nawet najgorsza sytuacja, jeżeli w niej się znajdziemy, rozkłada się na czynniki pierwsze, a wśród nich będą takie, których można się uchwycić, jak gałęzi krzaka rosnącego na brzegu, aby stawić opór wirom ściągającym na dno. Ta szczelina, ta wyspa, ta gałąź utrzymują nas na powierzchni istnienia.”
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