The Rwandan genocide sparked a horrific bloodbath that swept across sub-Saharan Africa, ultimately leading to the deaths of some four million peopl...
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Apr 21, 2009
Dave
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As a more-than-interested observer of events in the Democratic Republic of Congo, I found Gerard Prunier's Africa's World War a worthwhile if dense expression of one man's opinions about an incredibly complex chapter in the continent's history. Is it rife with supposition, self-serving sources, and subjective interpretation of events? Certainly. But that's the nature of the conflict, so readers expecting a black-hat-white-hat cast of good guys and bad guys are going to be dismissive of the wo
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Dec 13, 2010
Sara
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Wow! What a mess! This book is a very detailed account of the (most probably) biggest African conflict; a war fought among foreigners on the Congolese land for often unrelated interests and reasons. Starting with the aftermaths of the Rwandan genocide, Prunier covers the events ‘till the 2008. Although the situation is extremely intricate (during your reading you can probably get lost in a war bush somewhere in the Congo basin or drown in the river of words of a western diplomat), the author m
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May 21, 2011
Chris
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I'm not sure who I am madder at, the librarian who recommended this book or the author for making his life's work, his magnum opus, so darn hard to read. Unless you have a working knowledge of Africa, you are starting out behind the mark- Quick- name the capital of Angola! If you cannot do that, his reference to Luanda, as if I know what he is talking about, leave me wondering, is that Angola's capital or Namibia's- but the whole reference to Luanda, is not just a reference to a location, it is
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May 25, 2009
Qalandar
rated it: 
Africa's World War, Gerard Prunier's fantastic exercise in a sort of double contextualization -- of both the Rwandan genocide and the ensuing trans-continental Congo conflict, involving at least half a dozen countries and yet more non-state militias and organizations -- is essential reading. Prunier analyzes the causes and course of the conflict in significant detail, without losing sight of his non-specialist audience, and all the while going beyond the glib explanations (of the "ancient
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Sep 08, 2010
Ed
rated it:
This book has taken on a "ripped from the headlines" timeliness since the very recent leak of a UN investigation into the war in the Congo between 1996 and 1998 which concluded that the Rwandan military was guilty of war crimes and possible genocide against Hutu refugees. Since the genocide perpetrated by the Hutu against the Tutsi people in Rwanda in 1994 Paul Kagame has used the pusillanimous behavior of the UN, the United States and Western Europe to demand that they support Rwanda
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Feb 05, 2010
DoctorM
rated it:
A wide-scope introduction to the aftermath of the Rwanda genocide and the near-decade of war in its aftermath. Let's remember--- the Congo Wars involved a shifting cast of international players (Congo/Zaire, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Angola, Sudan, Tanzania, and Namibia, plus the UN, the US, France, and a host of NGOs) plus a bewildering array of militias, political parties, ethnic/tribal movements, and governments-in-exile. The cost of the Congo Wars in the decade after 1996 may have been as man
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Apr 15, 2009
Charles
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I learned a lot from this book and am planning to go back and read it a few more times. It has that characteristic Prunier tone, which is witty, wry, usually measured, occasionally outraged. The prunier tone tends to be linked with the content: often a mix of factual observation, probably well founded rumor, and opinion tossed in. I'm not criticizing his style so nuch as simply characterizing it.
I have also read his book on the Rwandan Genocide and his book on Darfur. I would s More...
I have also read his book on the Rwandan Genocide and his book on Darfur. I would s More...
Dec 13, 2010
"http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1344506.html[return][return]It is a tremendously detailed account of how, in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide, the new Rwandan government invaded its neighbour Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) kicking off a conflict that sucked in military interventions from Burundi, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Angola, Chad, Sudan and Namibia, and which also entangled Libya, the Central African Republic, Congo-Brazzaville, Zambia and South Africa before it ended in 2002. R
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Jul 07, 2011
Marcia
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When I received this book, I thought "oh no, this is a textbook." As I pour over its pages, it is a textbook, but an immensely read-able one. I do not recommend this book for anyone who has not read about the genocide or the aftermath in the Congo. Please start with Gourevitch's book about the genocide and then tackle this one. I am about 50 pages in and wish I could stop working to read this book nonstop. I hope you will find it as gripping as well . . . maybe then we might make
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Oct 11, 2011
Anthony
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Probably the most authoritative account of what happened in this catastrophic war that involved nearly half of the continent: Rwanda, Uganda, Congo, Sudan, Angola, Zimbabwe, South Africa,Namibia, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo Brazzaville were just some of the countries involved in one way or another. 4 million Africans died. Prunier digs deep into history to try and give some background to the problem and has written a riveting account that I will read over and over again. Highly recomme
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May 24, 2009
Started - it's interesting, but I'm just not going to have the time to read this before it's due back at the library. Will pick up again when I have a bit more time.
Jan 08, 2010
This book is about a war that is taking place primarily in the DRC. however to tell it's story it has to tell the story of a number of Sub-Saharan African countries. Prunier has great stories about the personalities and events that span most of the continent. Very dense.
May 28, 2009
Rick
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OK, I'm only a short distance into this book, but so far it is the most detailed and comprehensive look at the Congo war(s) that I have read so far. Prunier has strongly held opinions, which definitely come through in his background chapters on the Rwandan backdrop to the war, but he has come by those opinions honestly, with deep research and first-hand reportage. I reserve the right to change my rating, but so far this feels like an important book on a poorly understood war -- one in which mill
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