Counterinsurgency in East Africa
349289
This book recounts a specific operation carried out in Kenya in the 1950s as part of the war against the Mau-Mau, African insurgents who carried out terror attacks against the colonial forces and their fellow Africans. The effort centered around the effort to eliminate Kimathi, who was at the center of the Mau-Mau and who was holed up near Mount Kenya with a small but hard-core group of terrorists. The process of getting Kimathi involved thoughtful and long-term planning to get to this elusive and clever foe and it makes for good reading. Illustrated with line drawings and good maps.
3379720
The Somali Doctrine is a gripping novel which I highly recommend. From Mogadishu, Addis Ababa, to Paris, London, Johannesburg and Nairobi, the plot never slackens, as you are taken into the sinister plot involving Somali militias, mercenary forces and non governmental organizations.

This is also a novel with a message. James Grenton portrays the negative impact on Africa of organizations (militias, mercenary forces, but also NGOs) that are unaccountable to the societies they operate in, with their own agenda and serving their own interests.
3067014
An excellent overview of the Boko Haram group, based on historical perspectives and the latest evolutions and the new waves of terror. It is an useful book for understanding as well Nigeria's complicated political and economic context and the new faces of terrorism in Africa.
Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
2918009
A first hand account of the US machinations in the then Congo in 1961( later Zaire and today the Democratic Republic of the Congo) which was front-line state in the hotting up Cold War in the shadow of the Cuban Missile Crisis. DRC remains a near failed state even today.
3805983
This book covers Rommel's efforts in Africa fron the time he started as commander to his final defeat at Alamein.  It contains much information about the Italian part in these battles and other aspects not covered well by English language studies of this campaign.  I have the highest possible recommendation for this book for those interested in the war in North Africa.
343931
An enjoyable piece of Africana, and recommended for those with an interest in the East African Coast.
2230944
This is probably the only generally available book on both of the wars involving Ethiopia during the 30s and 40s. Haile Selassie was the Emporer or Ethiopia from 1930 until the 60s, and this book recounts first the conquest of the country by Italy in 1936, then the colonialization of the country during its occupation, and finally the liberation of the nation in 1941 by the British. Besides the Emporer himself, the book involves many interesting characters, from Archibald Wavell, Winston Churchill, Orde Wingate, and William Slim, around to Rodolfo Graziani, the Duke of Aosta, and Benito Mussolini. The setting is Ethiopia itself, a vast, mostly trackless country, full of warring tribes, warlords vying for power, and foreigners trying to stay out of danger.

Mockler's interest, for the most part, is recounting the basics of the conflict. He pays special attention to the effect of the changing face of Ethiopian politics on the various personalities in the nation, and of course those outside it but involved in the narrative. Mockler starts the account by telling the story of the Battle of Adowa in the 1890s, where the Italians tried to conquer the country in order to turn it into a colony. Ethiopia was one of two countries who were still not colonies at that time, and Italy coveted it as a colony. The Ethiopians were stronger than other tribes that resisted colonialization, and of course the Italians weren't as well organized as the British or as ruthless as the Belgians. The defeat at Adowa left the Italians jealous and angry, thinking that the Ethiopians had rejected colony status, and of course all Europeans at the time imagined that subject people wanted, or at least should want, to be subjects of a European nation.

One difficulty that I had with the book is pretty much outside the parameters of what the writer can control. The country of Ethiopia and the people have very strange, foreign-sounding names. Of course they don't sound foreign to them, but to an American, they're hard to take in. One city discussed repeatedly in the text is called Debra Markos (sounds like a waitress at a diner in New Jersey to me) and one of the warlords is named Endalketchew. I always wanted to say Gesundheit when I saw his name.

Outside of that, I enjoyed the book a great deal. The author deals with the issues presented by the events intelligently, and the result is a very  good book.
880865
Waangari Maathai does a superb job of outlining challenges from governance to external actors, to the individual struggling to survive in a difficult environment. Focused on sub-Saharan Africa, she identifies many of the core issues facing this region. Often prescriptive, most of her recommendations are on target. Although her past experience with the Green Belt Movement colors many of the other issues she raises, this approach is not stifling. Her discussion of "micro nations" is a brilliant approach to tribalism and I was left wanting more on her views of this topic. Very well written, thought provoking, and entertaining, this book will be an excellent addition to your African collection.
1839938
Another one of those historical events completely ignored in the US was the Angolan Civil War which lasted for nearly 20 yrs.  Roughly it was the Communist MPLA/FAPLA vs the loosely western/SA supported UNITA. Needless to say it is somewhat difficult to get any material on this so anything I find is eagerly picked up.

This is the story of an armored unit from South Africa during 'Operation Modular' of the largest armored battle in Africa since WWII, the Battle of Cuito Cuanava. 4 Brigades of Soviet, East German, and Cuban supported forces including MiG's, T-55 tanks, APC's, and anti-aircraft vs a battalion of South African Ratel IFV's.

Written by one of the vehicle commanders, David Mannell, this is a 'soldier's point of view' book and not a history of the entire conflict, just his two years of service focused on his units' actions during the Battle of the Lomba river.  Clear, descriptive narration makes this a comfortable and easy read for even those not versed in military jargon.  The regular use of 'Afrikaans' is offset by the English definition next to it in parenthesis.

I really enjoyed this book not only for the history but also for the writing style.  It's hard enough to find information on this area of the world nevermind a book that I actually LIKE to read, not a boring textbook style.

5/5 stars.

http://daysofourtrailers.blogspot.com/2015/01/book-review-battle-of-lomba-1987.html
1385149
Social Justice and deep participation: Theory and practice for the 21st century is based on an analysis of community participation and how this generates social change in various countries in Africa, as well as North America.

This is a powerful book. Its theme, which explores the basis of social integrative power, social legitimacy has far reaching implications. It uncovers the grass roots social mechanisms required for good governance. As such it is prescient and timely.

At present we are witnessing the fragility of governments; the implosion of states, giving rise to a growing wave of nationless refugees. They are not only victims of poor governance within their communities of origin; but also of poor global governance  perpetuated by policies imposed by the countries in which they are obliged to seek refuge.

As an Africanist I believe that her work in Africa has shed light on secrets of community participation that few scholars have had the opportunity to observe.  Despite their recent post-colonial political history, African societies have a long historical record of non-coercive, community based systems of governance. These societies have yielded prosperity, safety and stability for centuries prior to colonization.

 ...Donnelly Roarks book is based on the analysis of the internalized participation dynamics of these communities and their contributions to governance methods. These governance mechanisms, because of their deep participation-have social legitimacy. Consequently they have survived despite the myriad macro-political and macro-economic changes that the countries witnessed in the past 150 years.

Her book is not only a philosophical discussion on the significance of participation, but it a significant contribution to our understanding of the factors underpinning sustainable governance. It explores the mechanism by which small communities harness political power  in their favor.

 Her insights on the transformational effects  of collective altruism as well as the combined importance of critical thought and ritual as universal methods of legitimizing values are profound. They provide timeless methods for documenting the manner in which communities establish methods of universal inclusion and therefore of sustainable governance.
3943942
U.S. Deep Penetration Operations in Burma

Charlton Ogburn's work "The Marauders" is the story of Merrill's Marauders in the jungles of Burma during World War II. The author, a former Marauder, depicts the day-by-day exploits of the United States Army's behind-the-lines deep penetration unit. There are many lessons to be learned from the Marauders' guerrilla-type operations. This is an interesting look at an important part of Army Ranger history.
3085362
The author, a counterinsurgency expert, documents the "hundred things" that had to be done by the Marines and the Army to turn around a war that was declared lost by Senator Harry Reid. The fiendish complexity is explained province by province battle by battle. And how this complexity had to be dealt with from the bottom-up with bribes, Iraqi partners, barriers and many more tactics like that that made the turn around possible. But the turn around is reversible. On page 375  Bing West suggests a pullout of all combat units in sixteen months (the Democrats position) could lead to catastrophe in Iraq. Defeat ordered from the top down, in spite of all that has been sacrificed, is still possible. We will see how great that possibility is after November 4, 2008.
4548406
Excellent overview by a rare individual who successfully completed 3 SF Selection Courses:

UK SAS
Rhodie SAS
Selous Scouts

It's an excellent glimpse of an underreported conflict as well as little known special forces organizations.

And it also offers a brief slice of Mozambique's RENAMO created and nurtured to counter FRELIMO once they gained control of bordering Mozambique to take the pressure off of Rhodesia and South Africa.

Highly recommended
51044
I love this whole series.  This was the first of the Africa@War books I purchased and I still find the tales told within to be more riveting with each re re re reading.

ANY serious counter insurgency soldier/scholar out there needs to own this book, both for the techniques and methodology of COIN,  but also to understand the inevitable friction that results with the conventional military leadership.

People fear and loath the unusual.  But when the unusual is both ostentatious and successful...they hate it even more.

Specifically within this volume I found the stories and pictures of black Rhodesian soldiers to be inspiring.  Most books on african wars specifically the ones about the Rhodesian and South African conflicts focus exclusively on the experiences of whites.  This book simply tells the tale.  Well worth the currency.
1589009
The patrol is billetd in the Tradewinds hotel in Freetown, Sierra Leone. It's October 1997 and it's hot. "Spider" Shepherd, Geordie, Jimbo and Jock are complaining about being stuck in a hell-hole. Shepherd's complaint is "they were given a mission to guard a beach so that South African mercenaries armed by British intelligence could land and engage the rebels and instead they went rogue and grabbed the stocks of Diamonds for themselves. The people we helped bring ashore are now making the country's problems even worse."

At that time the MI6 Officer, Jonathan Parker showed up and sat down at their table. Parker is worried that the mercenaries he hired are headed for he Liberian border to sell their diamonds, armoured vehicles and heavy weapons.

Parker pleads with Shepherd and his men to stop the mercenaries and make sure their vehicles and weapons don't fall into rebel hands Reluctantly, Shepherd agrees but gives Parker a list of items that Parker will need to scrounge up and provide if the SAS troopers are to complete the mission.

Among the items needed is a complete South African Army uniform that must be at least 5 years old. Even the boots must be worn and authentic. The full kit to clean a rifle will be needed as well.

They will need a Russian HIND helicopter and that will be handled by the Czech pilot Jerzy. Shepherd met with him and agreed to pay him in diamonds for his services.

The squad and Jerzy were flown to the border by Jerzy's friend Piotr in a civilian helicopter. The squad watched the sky for HIND helicopters returning to base and followed them on foot across the border. The battle portion of the mission had begun.

Rather than continue on and reveal the action scene and ending which would spoil it for readers I will stop here and invite you to down load this exciting story. It is well worth it. Leather is a master of the military short story.
4948667
This one was hard to put down.  Informative insight into the problems with the pirates, bandits and conditions in the strife torn areas of Africa.  Makes one proud of the men and women of the U.S. Special Forces, their skill and determination.  Gives a whole new perspective on what goes on behind the scenes of an event like this compared to the rapid-fire sound bites heard on the evening news.
3054102
This is an excellent Osprey title on South African armored vehicles during what they called the "Border War". Authors Kyle Harmse and Simon Dunstan have given the reader an excellent account of armored vehicles employed by South Africa and how they evolved during wartime.

The long border war involving Namibia and Angola lasted from 1975-1989 and propelled armored development and construction of some unique vehicles. This is a good example of a country, by necessity, designing and developing it's own military weapon systems to fit it's own environment and needs.

The SADF (South African Defense Force) began with French Panhard armored cars which the SADF upgraded to weapons capability for but then had to rely on indigenous weapons design as an international embargo cut off outside sources. The bush war and cross-border insurgency into Namibia meant a lot of mines were used to kill police and civilians. The SADF responded with the Casspir and the Buffel - early mine-resistant vehicles which were very effective in their role.

The SADF moved on to the Ratel, a wheeled infantry fighting vehicle that was among the first such vehicles and certainly predates the Bradley in US service. The SADF vehicles are 6x6 wheeled vehicles and their designs were mostly wheeled ones because of cost, ease of maintenance and repair and strategic mobility. Although the SADF did use tracked tanks, the Centurion-based "Oliphant", their vehicles were mostly wheeled with versions as infantry fighting vehicles, tank killers and self-propelled artillery.

This is an excellent primer (it's a typical 48-page Osprey weapons title) on South African armored vehicles and independent weapons design. Very interesting and a worthwhile read! Five stars!