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Dust of the Danakil (African Memoir Series)

Dust of the Danakil (African Memoir Series)

by IanMathie (Author)

  • New

    Paperback 2012

    $14.21
Synopsis

Drought is a natural disaster; starvation is a man-made tragedy. Preventing the former can go a long way to alleviating the latter, but not without the political will, as Ian Mathie makes clear in this gripping memoir of the 1974 humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia. Dust of the Danakil is a true story of an ill-conceived project run by the author in the violent, drought-stricken Danakil region of Ethiopia. Sent by UK government pen-pushers to harness seasonal flood water and turn the notoriously aggressive Afar herdsmen into farmers, he discovered a hostile environment - in more ways than one - that almost cost him his life. Intrigue, ingenuity, coercion and corruption make Dust of the Danakil an unforgettable story of despair, hope and disappointment which provokes an indictment of the relief and aid industries.

$14.21

Quantity

10 in stock

More Information

Format: Paperback
 Pages: 264
 Publisher: Mosaïque Press
Published: 15 Mar 2012
ISBN 10: 1906852138
ISBN 13: 9781906852139

Media Reviews
Eye opening in ways I never could have expected. No matter how bad our Western economy gets, how drowning in debt we are, it is impossible not to feel gratitude for life when you see how the other half lives... His books are journalistic masterpieces. I will happily read anything this gentleman writes. - Amazon Ian demonstrates not only his deep knowledge of and empathy with Africa from the inside, but his experience of the workings of the mandarins of Whitehall and the complexities of distributing aid. - Amazon
Author Bio
Ian Mathie spent his childhood and early school years in Africa. After a short service commission in the RAF, he returned to the continent as a rural development officer working for the British government and a number of other agencies. His work in water resources and related projects during the 1970s brought him into close contact with the African people, their cultures and varied tribal customs, many of which are now all but lost. These experiences, recorded in his notebooks, were the inspiration for a series of African memoirs, of which Dust of the Danakil is the fourth volume. Ian continued to visit Africa until health considerations curtailed his travelling. He now lives in south Warwickshire with his wife and dog.