I: Somalia; One: Laws of War; Two: “City of the Insane”; Three: A Land Forgotten by God; Four: “Club Skinny—Dancers Wanted”; Five: “Camp of the Murderers”; Six: The Fugitive; Seven: Bloody Monday; Eight: Mission Impossible; Nine: Back to Zero; II: Sudan; Ten: Divided by God; Eleven: War of the Cross; Twelve: The False Messiah; Thirteen: Darwin Deceived; III: Rwanda; Fourteen: A Holocaust; Fifteen: “Dreadful Note of Preparation”; Sixteen: Genocide Denied; Seventeen: In Perpetuum
Scott Peterson is currently the Middle East correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor, and is based in Amman, Jordan. He covered Africa for The Daily Telegraph of London and his photography regularly appears in Time, Newsweek, Life, The New York Times Magazine, and Harper's.
"Peterson shows very clearly how and why the Somalia expedition
went wrong -- this is as succinct and gripping an account as I've
read of the debacle. It is a classic portrait of an army in its
pomp -- ignorant, arrogant, and ripe for the humiliation that it
suffered." -- Alex Renton, Evening Standard
"Scott Peterson's eyewitness accounts of the wars in Somalia,
Sudan, and Rwanda highlight not only the plight of the innocent
victims, but his own attempts to live with the 'sickly sweet smell
of death'. This relentless read is also a diatribe against those
who perpetuate was, but sense of hope as he looks to a future that
may, some day, bring peace." -- Shaunagh O'Connor
Herald-Sun:Australia
"In the 19902s, Africa was 'the laboratory of war' that would, in
Scott Peterson's words, 'renew our understanding of the four
horsemen of the apocalypse: war, famine, pestilence and death'.
Reporting and takin gphotos for the international press, as the
unnerving study shows, Peterson 'never once wrote a story about
democracy' in Somalia, Sudan and Rwanda, but witnessed genocide in
which'the killing was allowed to rage unchecked, then to burn
itself out', while the world watched impotently." -- Tony Maniaty,
The WeekendAustralian Review
"The appalling tragedies of Somalia, the Sudan, and Rwanda during
the 1990s told with breath-stealing intensity by war correspondent
Peterson...Just as Peterson intends, these exposures to war in
Africa 'tear at your heart, and make you angry, very angry'." --
Kirkus Reviews
"In chapter after chapter, the reader is drawn into the text,
vicariously bearing witness to manifold crimes against humanity and
also learning about the complexities of seeking
solutions...poignant portraits of suffering...A terribly important
book."
"In Me Against My Brother Peterson reports from the killing fields
of Somalia, Sudan and Rwanda. It is gripping stuff...This is a
disturbing book. It should be required reading for all those
charged with crafting America's African policy."
"While Clinton and U.S. policyholders struggle to try to find ways
to make Africa relevant to Americans, Peterson goes for the
jugular. In dissecting how poverty, hunger, and vengeance plunged
Africa's people into the depths of hell, he has also exposed the
potential vileness in all of humanity. Perhaps understanding what
led to clan warfare in Somalia, religious war in Sudan, and
genocide in Rwanda will frighten us into making sure brothers never
turn against brothers in our own homes." -- TheBoston Book
Review
"These are tales of war and war crimes, of food shortages and
international relief efforts, of devastating terror and astonishing
resilience. Peterson thoughtfully assesses the consequences of UN
intervention in Somalia (and failure to intervene in Sudan and
Rwanda); he offers nuanced analysis of the argument that
international food aid has extended war in the Sudan, and suggests
Western nations alternate between arrogance and indifference in
their dealings with Africa. A worthy new contribution to the study
of disruption in the developing world as a counterweight to dreams
of a new world order." -- Booklist
"It has the immediacy and vividness of eyewitness testimony...His
reporting is visceral and close to the ground...Peterson neither
flinches from the appalling bloodshed nor closes his mind to the
many scenes of generosity and honorable conduct...With tribal,
ethnic and religious conflicts now so pervasive, the lessons
Peterson communicates about Africa should claim the attention of
everyone trying to make sense of today's world." -- Publishers
Weekly
"The appalling tragedies of Somalia, the Sudan and Rwanda during
the 1990s told with breath-stealing intensity by war correspondent
Peterson. . . . Just as Peterson intends, these exposures to war in
Africa 'tear at your heart, and make you angry, very angry'." --
KirkusReviews
"A gripping piece of reportage by a courageous American journalist
about Africa's most horrific episodes of the 1990s. Peterson takes
his readers on a frightening journey to the very edge of human
tragedy." -- Karl Maier, author of Into the House of the Ancestors:
Insidethe New Africa
"Peterson has brought us where UN soldiers, foreign diplomats and
fellow journalists rarely dare to travel. He brings us wrenching
tales of good intentions gone awry, bad intentions paying grisly
dividends, and far too little attention being paid to the human
cost of conflict in Somalia, Sudan and Rwanda. Peterson's book
should heighten political and public resolve to get our Africa
policy right, as he shows we could hardly get it more wrong." --
Samantha Power, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard
University
"Scott Peterson was among the most intrepid, energetic journalists
in Africa during the 1990s. In Me Against MyBrother, he takes us on
a terrifying journey across the continent during a time when
humanity's darkest impulses seemed to overwhelm all reason and
compassion. A masterwork of on-the-ground reportage and analytic
clarity." -- Josh Hammer, author of Chosen By God: ABrother's
Journey
"A decade of extraordinary reporting informs these accounts of war
in three countries in Africa. Peterson has traveled as deeply into
the darkness of these conflicts as any journalist alive, and while
the stories he returns with are both terrifying and enlightening,
they retain a generous, hard-earned vision of another, more humane
African future." -- William Finnegan, author of Crossing the Line:
A Year in the Land of Apartheid and A Complicated War: The
Harrowing of Mozambique
"Scott Peterson has given us a sad, compelling, and depressingly
accurate picture of African countries torn apart by senseless civil
wars. In this beautifully written account, Peterson shows us what
we need to see to understand Africa's current plight. This is
first-rate reportage from the front lines of some of the
continent's most persistent conflicts." -- Keith B. Richburg,
author of Out of America: A Black Man Confronts Africa
"A relentless account of local, civil, and ethnocidal war in Africa
and an angry protest against the way that war's horror is
compounded by cynical and ignorant bureaucrats and politicians who
have not yet learned the consequences of unwise aid and
intervention." -- Peter Matthiessen, author of the novel Bone by
Bone
"Scott Peterson's vivid, compelling story of bloody conflicts in
Somalia, Sudan and Rwanda underlines both the folly of war and the
horrible consequences for those who are caught in its path. This is
a disturbing book, as one would expect from an account in which
death, too often of the innocent, is a constant. But also
disturbing are the heartlessness of Somali, Sudanese and Rwandan
warlords and the indifference of Western publics to the plight of
Africans. The author's sometimes controversial observations about
the actions and inactions of United Nations and American officials
merit careful consideration." -- Ambassador Don Petterson (Somalia,
1978-1982; Tanzania, 1986-1989; Sudan, 1992-1995)
"The resulting analysis superbly exposes war criminals in the three
countries but also assigns guilt internationally:Presidents Clinton
and Mitterland; US Ambassador Undersecretary-General Annan. Good
print, instructive maps, well-captioned photos, helpful index. A
book for all humanity." -- E.E. Beauregard, emeritus, Univeristy of
Dayton
"Peterson shows very clearly how and why the Somalia expedition
went wrong -- this is as succinct and gripping an account as I've
read of the debacle. It is a classic portrait of an army in its
pomp -- ignorant, arrogant, and ripe for the humiliation that it
suffered." -- Alex Renton, Evening Standard
"Scott Peterson's eyewitness accounts of the wars in Somalia,
Sudan, and Rwanda highlight not only the plight of the innocent
victims, but his own attempts to live with the 'sickly sweet smell
of death'. This relentless read is also a diatribe against those
who perpetuate was, but sense of hope as he looks to a future that
may, some day, bring peace." -- Shaunagh O'Connor
Herald-Sun:Australia
"In the 19902s, Africa was 'the laboratory of war' that would, in
Scott Peterson's words, 'renew our understanding of the four
horsemen of the apocalypse: war, famine, pestilence and death'.
Reporting and takin gphotos for the international press, as the
unnerving study shows, Peterson 'never once wrote a story about
democracy' in Somalia, Sudan and Rwanda, but witnessed genocide in
which'the killing was allowed to rage unchecked, then to burn
itself out', while the world watched impotently." -- Tony Maniaty,
The WeekendAustralian Review
"The appalling tragedies of Somalia, the Sudan, and Rwanda during
the 1990s told with breath-stealing intensity by war correspondent
Peterson...Just as Peterson intends, these exposures to war in
Africa 'tear at your heart, and make you angry, very angry'." --
Kirkus Reviews
"In chapter after chapter, the reader is drawn into the text,
vicariously bearing witness to manifold crimes against humanity and
also learning about the complexities of seeking
solutions...poignant portraits of suffering...A terribly important
book."
"In Me Against My Brother Peterson reports from the
killing fields of Somalia, Sudan and Rwanda. It is gripping
stuff...This is a disturbing book. It should be required reading
for all those charged with crafting America's African policy."
"While Clinton and U.S. policyholders struggle to try to find ways
to make Africa relevant to Americans, Peterson goes for the
jugular. In dissecting how poverty, hunger, and vengeance plunged
Africa's people into the depths of hell, he has also exposed the
potential vileness in all of humanity. Perhaps understanding what
led to clan warfare in Somalia, religious war in Sudan, and
genocide in Rwanda will frighten us into making sure brothers never
turn against brothers in our own homes." -- TheBoston
Book Review
"These are tales of war and war crimes, of food shortages and
international relief efforts, of devastating terror and astonishing
resilience. Peterson thoughtfully assesses the consequences of UN
intervention in Somalia (and failure to intervene in Sudan and
Rwanda); he offers nuanced analysis of the argument that
international food aid has extended war in the Sudan, and suggests
Western nations alternate between arrogance and indifference in
their dealings with Africa. A worthy new contribution to the study
of disruption in the developing world as a counterweight to dreams
of a new world order." -- Booklist
"It has the immediacy and vividness of eyewitness testimony...His
reporting is visceral and close to the ground...Peterson neither
flinches from the appalling bloodshed nor closes his mind to the
many scenes of generosity and honorable conduct...With tribal,
ethnic and religious conflicts now so pervasive, the lessons
Peterson communicates about Africa should claim the attention of
everyone trying to make sense of today's world." -- Publishers
Weekly
"The appalling tragedies of Somalia, the Sudan and Rwanda during
the 1990s told with breath-stealing intensity by war correspondent
Peterson. . . . Just as Peterson intends, these exposures to war in
Africa 'tear at your heart, and make you angry, very angry'." --
KirkusReviews
"A gripping piece of reportage by a courageous American journalist
about Africa's most horrific episodes of the 1990s. Peterson takes
his readers on a frightening journey to the very edge of human
tragedy." -- Karl Maier, author of Into the House of the
Ancestors: Insidethe New Africa
"Peterson has brought us where UN soldiers, foreign diplomats and
fellow journalists rarely dare to travel. He brings us wrenching
tales of good intentions gone awry, bad intentions paying grisly
dividends, and far too little attention being paid to the human
cost of conflict in Somalia, Sudan and Rwanda. Peterson's book
should heighten political and public resolve to get our Africa
policy right, as he shows we could hardly get it more wrong." --
Samantha Power, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard
University
"Scott Peterson was among the most intrepid, energetic journalists
in Africa during the 1990s. In Me Against
MyBrother, he takes us on a terrifying journey across
the continent during a time when humanity's darkest impulses seemed
to overwhelm all reason and compassion. A masterwork of
on-the-ground reportage and analytic clarity." -- Josh Hammer,
author of Chosen By God: ABrother's Journey
"A decade of extraordinary reporting informs these accounts of war
in three countries in Africa. Peterson has traveled as deeply into
the darkness of these conflicts as any journalist alive, and while
the stories he returns with are both terrifying and enlightening,
they retain a generous, hard-earned vision of another, more humane
African future." -- William Finnegan, author of Crossing the
Line: A Year in the Land of Apartheid and A Complicated
War: The Harrowing of Mozambique
"Scott Peterson has given us a sad, compelling, and depressingly
accurate picture of African countries torn apart by senseless civil
wars. In this beautifully written account, Peterson shows us what
we need to see to understand Africa's current plight. This is
first-rate reportage from the front lines of some of the
continent's most persistent conflicts." -- Keith B. Richburg,
author of Out of America: A Black Man Confronts Africa
"A relentless account of local, civil, and ethnocidal war in Africa
and an angry protest against the way that war's horror is
compounded by cynical and ignorant bureaucrats and politicians who
have not yet learned the consequences of unwise aid and
intervention." -- Peter Matthiessen, author of the novel Bone
by Bone
"Scott Peterson's vivid, compelling story of bloody conflicts in
Somalia, Sudan and Rwanda underlines both the folly of war and the
horrible consequences for those who are caught in its path. This is
a disturbing book, as one would expect from an account in which
death, too often of the innocent, is a constant. But also
disturbing are the heartlessness of Somali, Sudanese and Rwandan
warlords and the indifference of Western publics to the plight of
Africans. The author's sometimes controversial observations about
the actions and inactions of United Nations and American officials
merit careful consideration." -- Ambassador Don Petterson (Somalia,
1978-1982; Tanzania, 1986-1989; Sudan, 1992-1995)
"The resulting analysis superbly exposes war criminals in the three
countries but also assigns guilt internationally:Presidents Clinton
and Mitterland; US Ambassador Undersecretary-General Annan. Good
print, instructive maps, well-captioned photos, helpful index. A
book for all humanity." -- E.E. Beauregard, emeritus, Univeristy of
Dayton
Peterson files this report from the front lines of three of Africa's most virulent wars of the 1990s. It has the immediacy and vividness of eyewitness testimony, because Peterson, who was reporting from Africa for London's Daily Telegraph, was present at the scenes of battle, recording his impressions as the carnage went forward. His reporting is visceral and close to the ground: "in the dust and the sweat, and the laughter mixed with misery that permeates the flavor of war in Africa." In Somalia, he observed how clan hatreds, combined with grossly excessive arms shipments from the developed nations, resulted in an explosion of anarchy and violence. The U.S. comes in for a substantial share of blame for its ill-considered, violent and ultimately disastrous intervention. In the Sudan, Peterson witnessed what he calls an apocalyptic civil war in which neither side was strong enough to win or weak enough to lose. Rwanda was even worse; at the height of the Hutu war of extermination against the Tutsis, one murder took place about every two seconds for an entire month. In his firsthand account of these genocidal conflicts, Peterson neither flinches from the appalling bloodshed nor closes his mind to the many scenes of generosity and honorable conduct he also witnessed. The author's purpose is made clear in the book's introduction: the catastrophic wars of Africa, "largely unrecorded, ...require exploring for what they tell us about the human capacity to conduct evil, and also to survive it." With tribal, ethnic and religious conflicts now so pervasive, the lessons Peterson communicates about Africa should claim the attention of everyone trying to make sense of today's world. 16 pages of color photos not seen by PW. (May) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
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