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A review by imaginary_space
Angola: Promises and Lies by Karl Maier
challenging
dark
informative
sad
medium-paced
3.5
The book is very informative, but unfortunately, it jumps around a lot and it's hard to keep track of the timeline. Maier also does not go into detail on the history of Angola, so I suggest going into this book with at least knowledge about some background as well as the sequence of events.
There are a lot of spelling and grammar errors, something I can accept to a certain extent in a self-published book, but not in this extent and not so much from a journalist. This book is in need of editing, or at least a handful of friends who will take the time to read it and point out errors. I also suggest adding dates to the chapter titles, to make following the content easier for readers without much knowledge of the Angolan civil war.
What I do appreciate is the author's approach to the sides of the political conflict: Everybody gets called out and criticized, he gives explanation when needed and points out lies, half truths, broken promises and hypocrisy when he encounters it - and that includes parties outside of Angola.
He firmly takes the side of the Angolan people who just wanted freedom from colonisers and were caught in the crossfire of a conflict that destroyed their country and their lives, and he always comes back to focussing on the civilians and how they are impacted by all of it. It is extremely hard to read at times, but very important.
Because of the jumbled timeline and the many errors, I can not give this book more than 3.5 stars, but I still recommend reading it.
There are a lot of spelling and grammar errors, something I can accept to a certain extent in a self-published book, but not in this extent and not so much from a journalist. This book is in need of editing, or at least a handful of friends who will take the time to read it and point out errors. I also suggest adding dates to the chapter titles, to make following the content easier for readers without much knowledge of the Angolan civil war.
What I do appreciate is the author's approach to the sides of the political conflict: Everybody gets called out and criticized, he gives explanation when needed and points out lies, half truths, broken promises and hypocrisy when he encounters it - and that includes parties outside of Angola.
He firmly takes the side of the Angolan people who just wanted freedom from colonisers and were caught in the crossfire of a conflict that destroyed their country and their lives, and he always comes back to focussing on the civilians and how they are impacted by all of it. It is extremely hard to read at times, but very important.
Because of the jumbled timeline and the many errors, I can not give this book more than 3.5 stars, but I still recommend reading it.
“By all accounts the Angolan people, the great majority of them poor, illiterate and living in isolated villages or urban slums, carry out their civic responsibilities with great dignity and patience. The two voting days in Angola are another confirmation that anyone who mouths the cliché that Africans are not ready for democracy is simply ignorant of the facts. African politicians, however, are a different matter.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Death, Murder, Violence, and War
Moderate: Genocide and Racism
Minor: Slavery