If you are interested in Ethiopia, this book provides a pictured guide to the country, its history and its sites. The photography is amazing.

This is an incredibly lovely book that shows the various groups of people that make up Ethiopia. A must read, that's informative, educational and thoroughly enjoyable.

This work of art in nothing less than excellent!!

Mission Improbable gives a very accurate and comprehensive history of the UN operation in Somalia from the historical, political, operational, bureaucratic and personal levels. It describes the anguish of a people struggling to cope both with their own fragmented leadership and with an alien monolith, represented by UNOSOM, in their midst.

The book details the minutiae of a UN bureaucracy at its best and at its worst. On the one hand, it shows how a group of dedicated people representing virtually every culture from around the world can establish themselves in a particularly harsh and dangerous environment, risking their lives to help a desperately needy country get back on its feet and restore its social, economic and political infrastructure.

On the other hand, it demonstrates the ill-preparedness of the Organization, as a reflection of the ill-preparedness of its member state components, to truly understand and to effectively deal with the unique Somalian culture whose goals were essentially parallel to, if not identical with, the UNOSOM mission.

The book touches repeatedly upon the day-to-day frustrations of a transplanted UN bureaucracy, including the furiously circuitous paths that must be taken to get seemingly simple things accomplished, from procuring toilet paper for personal use to trying to explain the whereabouts of a suddenly missing $4 million in cash.

The author explains the conflicts between the age-old Somali clan system, the glue that holds the Somali people together, and the upstart international presence. Most importantly, she explains that this was the fundamental reason behind the inability of the two cultures to communicate meaningfully with one another and which led to the collapse of the international effort to resolve the problem. Nevertheless, as is repeatedly intimated, the Somali people represented by the opposing factions and left to their own devices, are making headway in the formation of a new government which will bring an end to their years of misery.

Overall, this book provides an absolutely unique insight into the UN operation in Somalia and serves to place in a remarkable light the peace that the Somalis are trying to achieve after an important jump-start from the United Nations.

The author's experience as an information officer with the United nations Mission in Somalia (UNOSOM) provides accurate information for the public on the achievement of the UN/US intervention in Somalia. Her narrative puts the record straight by correcting sensational and incomplete international media reports which helped create the impression that the intervention was a failure. With numerous examples such as the prevention of famine, the checking of cholera, the development of markets, the promotion of cattle and fruit exports and the non-retrogression into total anarchy when the UN pulled in March 1995, Fogarassy points out that these significant developments were ignored by the international media because they lacked commercial newsworthiness.

By introducing a Media Unit as part of its operation in Somalia, the UN was capable of more effective communication with the Somalis by radio and print. The services of the Media Unit were invaluable in assisting the Somali reconciliation meetings in Kismayo, Mogadishu and Nairobi. Additionally, the Media Unit complemented the operations of other UNOSOM departments (Justice, Political, Humanitarian and Disarmament, Demining and Demobilisation), as well as those of other international organisations such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The UNOSOM operation highlighted a number of shortcomings in the UN's efficiency in managing field operations needing review, including in recruitment, management and control. Frequent changes in top management undercut mutual trust between Somalis and the international community while disruptive rivalries between the Media Unit chief and the spokesman led to dysfunction in processing and distribution of information, one reason for the international media not obtaining wider coverage of UNOSOM activities.

The UNOSOM compound facilitated the harmonious co-existence of people from diverse cultures, who realised that racial and cultural stereotyping masked much in common to all societies regardless of religion, race or culture. This awareness helped to appreciate that adversarial politics and political party organisations, the basis of democratic systems in western society, are not readily applicable to the Somali context where individualism and communalism are the norms, with decisions reached after extensive consultations among clans and factions. The international community found it convenient to look to Aidid and Ali Mahdi, the principle leaders of two main groups of clan and factional alliances, and they held these two responsible for agreements entered into on behalf of their allies. It was not appreciated that both leaders had very lax disciplinary power over their allies, unlike in a traditional developed country political party organisation. By the same token, the international community, especially the US, was impatient with the long Somali process of consultations and hence, the premature abandonment of the Mission when dividends from the intervention were yielding fruit.

One important lesson from the Somalia operation was that treating the host country with condescension prevented the international community from understanding the Somali psyche. It hindered a faster rate of progress in the restoration of peace and stability. Using utilitarian instruments of incentives and sanctions to achieve goals was counter-productive, yet when funds and facilities for reconciliation meetings were offered, a number of initiatives for reconciliations emerged. Reconciliation that could have led to the formation of a national government was slowed by the Somalis trying to settle historically outstanding clan differences that ranked higher in their priorities.

This book is a didactic source of information on what transpired in Somalia. It makes the case that the intervention was successful and it appeals for a tapping of the UN's extensive facilities for information the commercial media can use.

Itis necessary to read this book special to those how are related to the political search or how related to the horn Africa, Also from this book you can know the relation between Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia

i like to order this book and get as fast as you ca

Caputo' Horn of Africa is a well-written novel in a style that emulates or aspires to Graham Greene or Joseph Conrad. I enjoyed the book, and admired the writer but the story never completely 'clicked' for me.
Horn of Africa is a psychological/military thrill that takes place in a fictional province of Ethiopia, Bejaya, that closely resembles Eritrea but is not really supposed to be anyplace. The story is told through a first person narrative of one of the characters, Charlie Gage. Gage is a burnt out journalist hanging around Cairo. He's recruited by a simultaneously creepy, pompous and shadowy CIA character to go along on a clandestine mission to Bejaya to assist local rebels against the Ethiopians. Gage is joined on his mission by an uptight, by the book Britain with local experience and a larger than life American, Jeremy Nordstrand, with a borderline psychotic sociopathic philosophy about life and their mission. Nordstrand is both philosopher (in a base way) and soldier, with obvious capabilities despite his slightly unbalanced philosophy. Soon enough, he becomes the group's real leader. Nordstrand first willingly descends into violence, testing both himself and his idea of society, and then slowly descends into madness.
Caputo has Gage set the tone of the novel in the first two pages: the reader knows that this is not a story with a happy ending, and that ugly things happen. This is both good an bad: I thought it simultaneously gave a great sense of foreboding throughout the novel, but when the dark events occur they were anti-climatic.
Also, Nordstrand wore his psychosis on his sleeve, as did the British character. I had a hard time believing that they would be put in a position of power on an important mission, rogue or not. The story was interesting but the base premise, in my mind, was a little hard to believe.
Anyway, I don't think you will be disappointed by Horn of Africa. Its extremely well written with deep characterizations, and an interesting story. Is it quite up to Conrad or Greene? Maybe on one of the formers' worst days... but its still a good novel and a worthwhile read.

Mind you, I said "novel" rather than "book" or "story." Caputo's best book, of course, is his memoir "A Rumor of War." His best story (actually, novella) is that incredibly haunting piece "Standing In" from the collection "Exiles."

As far as novels go--and I hate to say this, because I like very much what this writer stands for--Caputo has certainly written some stinkers. "Indian Country" is truly awful, "Equation for Evil" reads like a Grisham-type potboiler, and "DelCorso's Gallery" has a lot of clumsy writing and emotional posturing that mars a potentially good story. I haven't read "The Voyage" yet, but I have noticed that there are a considerable number of negative reviews.

If you read any of Caputo's fiction, read "Horn of Africa." It is a good "second-rate" novel. Edmund Wilson once called Jean-Paul Sartre a "first-rate second-rate novelist." If Caputo's work was as consistently good as "Horn of Africa" he might merit that title himself.

Caputo, like his contemporary Robert Stone (whose work, although superior, bears a great deal of similarity to Caputo's), is going for the Graham Greene-Joseph Conrad approach; dignifying the novel of adventure and action with philosophical depth and resonance. This novel is an exploration of the old "heart of darkness" theme (the idea that man, unfettered by civilization, tends toward brutality and atrocity), set in the deserts of eastern Africa (in a fictional country called Bejaya, which seems to be a composite of Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, etc.) No doubt, Caputo is no Conrad, but "Horn of Africa" at least comes close to the caliber of one of Greene's lesser novels.

The story, narrated by a troubled Vietnam veteran, Charlie Gage, concerns a group of mercenaries/thrill seekers who are hired to run guns to an Islamic mujahideen group fighting against the Ethiopians. Eventually they become involved in the actual fighting themselves.

The main character, who emerges as the real leader of the group, is Jeremy Nordstrand, a Nietschze-reading Great Blonde Beast who seems to be modeled after Jack London's Wolf Larsen (from "The Sea Wolf"). Nordstrand, having misread "Beyond Good and Evil", seeks self-liberation or self-definition through the violent imposition of his will upon those weaker than him--those fit only to be "slaves." Nordstrand views his adventure in Africa, far from the reach of laws and police forces, as an oppportunity to explore his darkest impulses with impunity. Charlie Gage, the Marlow-like character, watches horrified as Nordstrand plunges to the bottom of the moral abyss, and then lives to tell us about it.

This is a tightly-woven narrative with solid, rich characterization.

Caputo here gives us Conrad in a modern context--and in a way we of the Pepsi generation can understand. Herein we find supposedly civilized men thrust into a primitive situation; but then, what is war, anyway? Who are the savages? Lines drawn by rationalism are blown away by the winds of the moment. The story will grab you by the neck, and you will see man as he naturally is.

a good book for the wildlife enthusiast, but kinda boring at times. Not every day in real life can be as exciting as a Hollywood movie so this is accurate representation of what it must be like, but it takes a real passion for the animal kingdom to read it. It has been a couple of years since I read it so it isn't very fresh in my mind, but I did enjoy parts of it very much.

Carol Cunningham and Joel Berger, a husband and wife research team, describe their research on black rhinos in Namibia. It is very readable, telling their personal story, documenting their research, explaining African perspectives, and discussing the politics involved with their project. This book reads like a novel while dispensing eye-opening information.

Casting the giant sable antelope as a modern day unicorn, John Frederick Walker's Certain Curvature of Horn is at once a tale of mystery, wildlife biology, and potboiling politics. Anyone with an interest in Africa's megafauna will enjoy this carefully researched saga of the sable's precarious existence through Angola's long civil war. The first part of the book is not for the squeamish as one antelope after another is felled by trophy hunters and museum collectors. Walker's obvious reverence for the iconic beasts makes each shot and each death feel like a personal loss. But it is the mano a mano of Angola's warring leaders - Eduardo dos Santos and Jonas Savimbi - in the book's second half that causes the most discomfiture as the conservation world agonizes over the sables' fate on battlefields that have bled for over 30 years. The question of the sable's survival among so much human bloodshed is the book's big unanswered question. Walker tries mightily to get a flesh and blood glimpse of the endangered animal, making numerous trips to Angola and finally, a furtive dash into the war zone itself. Not to give away too much, his disappointment is tempered by what seems like the end to Angola's civil war and the beginnings of new animal sanctuaries where decimated wildlife, like the giant sable, can begin anew. Walker manages to make you care for a magnificent animal that like the country it symbolizes, is a tough survivor.

It can be important for me to get"Somali Nationalism" and send to my address:

Abdi Jama Ali kløvervej 15,2mf 6000 Kolding Denmark