Bookshelf

The following are books which recently took a cozy spot in my bookshelf. I allowed my humble self, with all due respect for the authors, to review some of them. Click on any of the categories to go on. In the meantime, the latest of my critiques are on this very page.

Latest       Politics and History       Business       Travel and Culture      Fiction

In Siberia

by Colin Thubron (1999)

Ladislas' review (2011): Mr. Thurbron backpacks his way around Siberia in the late nineties, in the midst of Russia’s financial collapse. What he seeks is the Siberian soul; the core essence of a mystical region long forbidden to Westerners. What he finds is an unexpected diversity, the various parts of which are losing their roots. Alcoholism, violence, corruption, pollution, racism, devastation, utter poverty, and merciless capitalism are the remaining elements which can be singled out. In the end, no clear soul is found; one is just left with the impression that the stunning but powerful nature cruelly dominates its human inhabitants, both physically and psychologically.

The book is well written, with thorough research done. It is definitely not one of the mass travel books with an appealing cover and not much else. The overall tone could be described as realistic, and slightly cynical in a very British, but respectable, way. Overall, the author definitely captures Russia of the late nineties in its raw form. It may not be pretty, but it gets hard facts across through a both soft and researched approach.

Saddam’s Secrets

by General Georges Sada (2006)

Ladislas' review (2011): General Sada started from the bottom in the Iraqi Air Force and through hard work and labour reached the rank of multiple star general. He was, and still is, recognized as one of Iraq’s greatest pilots, having had numerous successes and being the most qualified in terms of training on Russian aircrafts. As a General in Saddam’s airforce, he was repeatedly retired and rehired as the main Gentleman at times despised his honesty, and at other times dearly needed it. His accounts of the internal workings of the Baath Party and of president-for-life Hussein’s psychology were quite enlightning. Interestingly, he also claims that the famous WMDs Mr Bush was looking for did in fact exist. They were supposedly shipped to the Baathist Syrian regime before the second Gulf War.
All of this sounds great. However, and this is a big however, the general is too pro-American and pro-Israel to have any credibility taking the context into account. He also happened to collaborate suspiciously too closely with American Evangelicals, who are known for their very dogmatic and slimplistic approach to foreign affairs. He cannot spend a single page without mentioning how God helped him and how the coalition coming to rid Iraq of Saddam was God’s will and that it really needed to be done (really?). This is a fine comment, but he provides the reader with only anecdotes but no formal sources whatsoever.

The man is to be highly respected, but his closeness to the US government, strong links to American Evangelicals, and perpetual praise of President Bush’s decision to invade, rounded with the lack of sources, make this book a work of propaganda and interesting story telling rather than an objective analysis of the situation. Not recommended.

French Lessons in Africa – Travels with my Briefcase through French Africa

by Peter Biddlecombe (1993)

Ladislas' review (2011): French Africa in the late eighties and early nineties from the perspective of a well-travelled Brit?  Definitely sounded promising and entertaining. I was not disappointed. The author travelled on business (mostly) and for leisure (also mostly it would seem) throughout French West Africa, Congo, Cameroon, and what was Zaire back then, for over 10 years. From the slums of Kinshasa, to the Witchcraft villages of Benin, the endless desert of Niger, and the high hopes of Abijan, he manages to cover various perspectives. This, combined with his wide array of interlocutors such as simple locals, to glamorous expats, shady businessmen, missionaries, and crooked heads of state, makes for a holistic account of what is deemed to be “French Africa”.

The book follows no strict chronology and instead has a chapter for each country. In each chapter, he recounts his “adventures” drawing few parallels between the chapters. It has the disadvantage of lacking a deep view at times, but allows the reader to dissipate him/herself into each country as per the chapters.

He uncovers immense diversity from both cultural and philosophical aspects, incredible potential in the region’s human capital, and yet this perpetual feeling of gloom and doom. The tone of the book, with hindsight, was a good prediction of the tough times to come in what is known as “Africa’s lost decade”.  It is a very interesting, and yet hilarious account, of his travels in the French Africa of the time. Though the implied message may be gloomy, the tone is almost constantly humoristic in a very British way. In essence, it is exactly the type of book required when travelling in Africa as it offers one the opportunity to “observe” someone else in probably very similar situations.