- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Profile Books (22 Jun 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1861979347
- ISBN-13: 978-1861979346
- Product Dimensions: 21.4 x 13.4 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
158,798 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #30 in Books > History > Countries & Regions > Africa > Central
- #90 in Books > History > Political History > Revolutions & Coups
The Wonga Coup
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Product Description
Daily Mail
'Takes readers into a world where slippery chancers and thuggish ex-special forces type...rub shoulders with spooks and dodgy financiers.'
Review
Daily Mail -'Impressively researched and briskly narrated...takes readers into a world where slippery chancers and thuggish ex-special forces type, mostly South African, rub shoulders with spooks and dodgy financiers.' Publishers Weekly - 'The most terrifying thing about this chronicle of a failed coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea is that it's not a Graham Greene novel but a true story. An irresistibly lurid tale...he lifts the curtain to the backrooms of power in postcolonial Africa.' Sunday Times - 'riveting and superbly researched...a brilliant, mordant, blackly comic read.' Observer - 'Adam Roberts shows, with merciless precision, how the dogs of war panicked where they should have been cool, and screwed up where they should have been clinically efficient.'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a relatively good account of the "toffs 'n' mercenaries" in Africa story of a few years ago. It's also a pretty much a straight telling of the characters, history, lead up and aftermath of the events with a tiny splodge of socio-economic facts and figures and a brief insight into the general corruption that exists in Africa (more often than not as a direct result of Big Business).
Although some of the writing occasionally feels strangled in its attempts to connect the various disparate elements and in trying to create an "exciting" feel with regards to the details of the coup (Roberts is certainly no thriller writer....he works for The Economist)...this is a fascinating insight into a world in which you would have thought no longer existed.
Although some of the writing occasionally feels strangled in its attempts to connect the various disparate elements and in trying to create an "exciting" feel with regards to the details of the coup (Roberts is certainly no thriller writer....he works for The Economist)...this is a fascinating insight into a world in which you would have thought no longer existed.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A very well written account of an astonishing story: this is what happens when bored ex-soldiers drink too much and start believing their own fantasies. The sheer amaturishness and bungling of these characters is breath-taking. Roberts writes well and the book is also well organised - neither too long nor too short. The one caveat is that there are no pictures and, despite the best descriptive efforts by Roberts, I cannot understand why pictures of the real people and real places he talks about are not included. I hope this is not an example of the publishers being too cheap.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Adam Roberts has commited a thrilling account of the exploits of soldiers of misfortune in Africa. The book includes some amazing revalations about people who you'd might not think of as coup-plotters. I found the book to be a a real page turner, just the kind of book you'd wanna pick up at the airport to pass a four hour flight or so.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
overview
A very good and interesting start. I found I had worked for some of the assocaite companies without knowing who the people in background were! Read more
Published 11 months ago by limni
Mark Thatcher's buddy
I was disappointed with this book. The story of Simon Mann is very interesting, but I have learnt just as much from newspapers as from this
Published 21 months ago by dc
Am I the only one with a sneaking regard for the plotters??
First off, this is a pacey little yarn; runs through all the events and makes a nice history of it and a decent account of the individuals involved. Read more
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