or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
14 used & new from £5.39

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Death of Dignity: Angola's Civil War
 
See larger image
 

Death of Dignity: Angola's Civil War (Paperback)

by Victoria Brittain (Author)
2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
Price: £12.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Only 1 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want guaranteed delivery by Tuesday, November 10? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
6 new from £8.99 8 used from £5.39

Product details

  • Paperback: 128 pages
  • Publisher: Pluto Press (2 Dec 1997)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0745312470
  • ISBN-13: 978-0745312477
  • Product Dimensions: 21.2 x 13.6 x 1 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 509,880 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #7 in  Books > History > Countries & Regions > Africa > Southern > Angola
  • See Complete Table of Contents

Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested in These Sponsored Links

  (What is this?)
   British Military Records opens new browser window
www.findmypast.com  -  Army lists, roll calls & records births, marriage & deaths from 1656 
   War Angola opens new browser window
Stratfor.com  -  Intelligence Analysis & Forecasting Worldwide. Get Special Access Now! 
  
 

Product Description

Product Description

Angola has been embroiled in internal conflict since 1975. Yet despite countless casualties, two million displaced people and over 500,000 refugees, Western media have paid scant attention. This account provides an outline of key events and figures in recent Angolan history, offering first-hand reportage of how the revolution was deliberately derailed and the fabric of Angola systematically destroyed. Victoria Brittain describes the bombings and sabotage following Angola's invasion by South Africa in 1975 and examines the subsequent deployment of Cuban troops and the Soviet-supported MPLA's confrontations with a militia backed by the US, Morocco and Zaire. She looks at how Savimba's UNITA movement became a formidable army, and reveals his regime in Angola to be as brutal as the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. The author argues that the terrorism of thousands of people and their human rights violations have been largely hidden from the world by US-driven propaganda portraying Savimbi as a democrat.

Tag this product

 (What's this?)
Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.
Your tags: Add your first tag
 

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Death of Dignity: Angola's Civil War
97% buy the item featured on this page:
Death of Dignity: Angola's Civil War 2.0 out of 5 stars (2)
£12.99
Bay of Tigers: A Journey Through War-torn Angola
3% buy
Bay of Tigers: A Journey Through War-torn Angola 5.0 out of 5 stars (1)
£6.49

 

Customer Reviews

2 Reviews
5 star:    (0)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
2.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Not woeful, 9 Aug 2001
By A Customer
This book cogently makes some very important points about the recent history of Angola, from the perspective of an eyewitness. The points have added significance against the scanty and partial reporting of the country in the western media.

It must be right to call attention to the role of the United States, South Africa, Zambia and Zaire in supporting the murderous UNITA organisation with money and arms, downplaying its atrocities and contriving to present it as in some way democratic (contrary to all known facts). It must also be right to discuss the role of resources (especially diamonds and oil) as a significant factor driving the conflict.

Although some passages stretch the credulity a bit (one about the spontaneous "love" of the MPLA government by those under its jurisdiction springs to mind) there seems no reason to doubt that the general picture presented by the author is accurate - the MPLA did have a popular base, and, as the 1992 elections showed, the best claim to be the representative government of the country. Those elections were of course immediately repudiated by Savimbi, plunging the country into a further devastating round of fighting from which it has not yet recovered. The "softly softly" approach with Savimbi by the United States and United Nations even in these circumstances (with untold thousands slaughtered) is striking, and in a less cynical and self-interested world would surely have led to searching public criticism.

This book (although brief) raises questions that ought to be raised and discussed - some of which have profound implications for the role of the US and UN in this and other countries. It should be read for that reason alone. To dismiss it as "woeful" is, I think, very unfair.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Angola deserves better, 26 Jul 2001
The book attempts to be a brief history of Angola since independence, but it is distorted by glaring political bias. There is neglible discussion of the contentious period of government rule immediately after independence and the reports of atrocities during that period. Hence the discussion of deterioriation of the governance of the country in the nineties is portrayed as an aberation from revolutionary ideals rather than a continuation of a pattern of abuse of human rights into the post cold-war political economy. The lack of balance in the book also means that any proper discussion of the horrors perpetrated by UNITA, the rebel movement, lacks credibility.

In sum the book does not provide any dependable insight into the history and politics of Angola. For Angola to emerge into a just society, one where the oil and diamond revenues are used to benefit the many rather than the few, requires (among other things) journalism that tells the truth about the entirity of the society rather than making excuses for or ignoring the horrors perpetrated by any single faction. Unfortunately this book fails utterly in that test.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums


Look for similar items by category


Look for similar items by subject


Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.