Saviors and Survivors

A historical view on the death and destruction of Darfur through war, politics, and the environmental issues are all covered in Mahmood Mamdani’s book, Saviors and Survivors.  I have to say I was a bit surprised that a book like this could be someone’s favorite.  I say this not to be critical of the text itself, which reads like a class lecture book, but I didn’t find anything in it that would move me to say I was changed because of it…  Mamdani, an academic by trade, does an excellent job of outlining through primary sources the aspects of the wars and politics in neighboring Chad and the Congo.  The interesting piece of this book is how the author presents an argument regarding whether the Darfur situation is genocide or not, a whole 100 pages dedicated to it… not sure why?  But does present compelling data that makes one wonder whether one should donate monies to the burgeoning non-profits looking for funds for this group or that.  I had not known the history of Darfur, so that was interesting.  Mamdani also provided a thorough 30 year overview of how the Cold War (Reagan was always involved in this stuff, huh?) impacted where we are today, and also Libyan leader Nuammar al-Qaddafi… who, guess what... is in the news big time!  I would not suggest this as a book to read, as there is even more recent information on the Darfur front and as time goes on this 2008 book is just not recent enough on what is happening.  A favorite book for a RA?  Hmm smart student, but favorite?  Not for your list I don’t think.  Nice research Dr. Mamdani.