Against All Odds: A Chronicle of the Eritrean Revolution with a New Afterword on the Postwar Transition

This was the first book that i bought one a recent trip to Eritrea and although it may be bias in favor of Eritrea, and the EPLF it is rightly so to counter act all of the Eithiopian propraganda that the west gets. this is a first hand acount of what the author saw for himself during the 30 year conflict with Ethiopia. it is a great read with a lot of the authors own feeligs and stories. this is a great way to get away from the dry military history of, this tank went there, the army moved there, this division had this big gun here style. I bet if you read this book you will not be able to explain african politics in short little articals like one would find in newspapers and weeklys. the reader will find that the world and africa are more compicated then we like to belive, and that africans, and in this case Eritreans can make a nation with out the heavy hand of western help.

This is an excellent book:I recommend it for anybody interested in history of the Eritrean struggle.This book, written by an author who, in the process had a near death experience( Missed by a fighter jet!!) ,offers a very realistic and indepth look at the longest civil war in Africa.It happens to be one of the few books wriiten about a traumatic and tragic time for the people of Eritrea. The author ,a journalist,whose intention was to cover Africa from Cairo to Johannesburg was caught up in development in Addis Ababa(Ethiopian capital).For the next couple of decades has practically been part of the struggle.He shares his experience and insigths in this book. The book begins with a raid into Asmara (Eritrean capiltal)by the then guerrila figthers.Then the reader is taken deep into rebel territory in the sahel mountains for an upclose and personal with the "tegadelti" liberation fighters. It gives a very vivid account several battles and the descrptions of them by both rank and file guerrilas and the highest commanders. You will meet in the book courageous souls who survived a thousand mile subsea level trek.You will meet...Fana,stereotypcal Eritrean highlander woman who was just as rebelious to tyranny as the ones actually figting it out with an AK47. The book explores the reasons behind the conflict (eventhougth not as detailed as the struggle itself).It presents a decent view of the oppossing sides. It is one of the most exciting and educational books I have ever read.