Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War

by Mark Bowden

The acclaimed New York Times bestseller Black Hawk Down is "a shocking account of modern warfare . . . gripping and horrifying" ( San Francisco Chronicle ) Destined to become a classic of war reporting, Black Hawk Down is Mark Bowden's brilliant account of the longest sustained firefight involving American troops since the Vietnam War. On October 3rd, 1993, about a hundred elite U.S. soldiers were dropped... (more)

Infidel

by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

In this profoundly affecting memoir from the internationally renowned author of The Caged Virgin, Ayaan Hirsi Ali tells her astonishing life story, from her traditional Muslim childhood in Somalia, Saudi Arabia, and Kenya, to her intellectual awakening and activism in the Netherlands, and her current life under armed guard in the West. One of today's most admired and controversial political figures, Ayaan Hirsi... (more)

Desert Flower: The Extraordinary Journey Of A Desert Nomad

Desert Flower: The Extraordinary Journey Of A Desert Nomad

by Waris Dirie

Waris Dirie leads a double life -- by day, she is an international supermodel and human rights ambassador for the United Nations; by night, she dreams of the simplicity of life in her native Somalia and the family she was forced to leave behind. Desert Flower, her intimate and inspiring memoir, is a must-read for anyone who has ever wondered about the beauty of African life, the chaotic existence of a supermodel,... (more)

In the Company of Heroes: A True Story

by Steven Hartov, Michael J. Durant

Piloting a U.S.Army Special Operations Blackhawk over Somalia, Michael Durant was shot down with a rocket-propelled grenade on October 3, 1993. With devastating injuries, he was taken prisoner by a Somali warlord. With revealing insight and emotion, he tells the story of what he saw, how he survived, and the courage and heroism that only soldiers under fire could ever know.

Black Hawk Down

by Mark Bowden

Late in the afternoon of Sunday, 3 October 1993, 140 elite US soldiers abseiled from helicopters into a teeming market neighbourhood in the heart of the city of Mogadishu, Somalia. Their mission was to abduct two top lieutenants of a Somali warlord and return to base. It was supposed to take them about an hour. Instead, they were pinned down through a long and terrible night in a hostile city, fighting for their... (more)

Infidel

by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

To hear this powerful story read by the woman who lived it is a life-changing experience. Ali survived civil war and mutilation to become an international spokeswoman for Islamic reform, especially with respect to womens rights. Her escape from Saudi Arabia and Somalia to the free-thinking Netherlands is stark in its incomprehensible contrasts and sometimes darkly amusing in its misunderstandings of cultural... (more)

Surrender or starve : travels in Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia, and Ethiopia

Surrender or starve : travels in Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia, and Ethiopia

by Robert D. Kaplan

Robert D. Kaplan is one of our leading international journalists, someone who can explain the most complicated and volatile regions and show why they’re relevant to our world. In Surrender or Starve , Kaplan illuminates the fault lines in the Horn of Africa, which is emerging as a crucial region for America’s ongoing war on terrorism. Reporting from Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Eritrea, Kaplan examines the... (more)

The Caged Virgin

by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Aman Story of a Somali Girl

by Aman, Janice Boddy, Virginia Lee Barnes

This is the intimate first-person account of a young woman's coming-of-age in Somalia. The daughter of tribal leaders, Aman recounts her dramatic life while at the same time illuminating an innocent childhood romance with a white boy that leads to murder; her circumcision ceremony; an unwanted marriage at the age of 13; and her escape to the city where her beauty and curiosity lead her into a world of white men,... (more)

The Farther Shore

by Matthew Eck

In coastal Africa, a small unit of U.S. Army soldiers is separated from its command and left for dead. Josh and his battle buddies are forced to keep moving to escape the marauding gangs that rule the area, and after a series of terrifying, violent encounters, only a few of them survive. In this haunting, adrenaline-filled war novel, both natives and invaders are almost inhuman, reflecting the horror and... (more)

The No-Nonsense Guide to Conflict and Peace (No-Nonsense Guides)

The No-Nonsense Guide to Conflict and Peace (No-Nonsense Guides)

by Sabina Lautensach, Peter Greener

The twentieth century was the most bloody in history, and already conflict in this century has taken a heavy toll. Most wars are now within countries rather than between states, and often it is civilians that suffer most, especially women and children. This is an invaluable guide for students, peace groups, and activists. It examines the changing types of war, including the war on terror and ethnic conflict... (more)

Somalia: State Collapse and the Threat of Terrorism (Adelphi Papers)

Somalia: State Collapse and the Threat of Terrorism (Adelphi Papers)

by Kenneth John Menkhaus

This work explores Somalia's state collapse and the security threats posed by Somalia's prolonged crisis. Communities are reduced to lawlessness, and the interests of commercial elites have shifted towards rule of law, but not a revived central state. Terrorists have found Somalia inhospitable, using it mainly for short-term transshipment.

TIME WELL WASTED

by David Haines, Anthony Ciccone

In the autumn of 1992, while away on a training mission, the men of 1st Platoon, 10th MP Company learned that they were first in line to be deployed to Somalia, Africa as a part of Operation Restore Hope. Before there ever was a Blackhawk Down, there was Time Well Wasted: The Story of 1st Platoon, 10th MP Company in Somalia, a nonfiction account of the lives of the men in 1st Platoon, on the ground in... (more)

My Friend Jamal (My Friend)

by Anna McQuinn

Different cultures. Fast friends. Jamal and Joseph were born in the same hospital in the same month. Now they're best friends. The two like to play at each other's homes. Joseph's mom knows Jamal can't eat pork sausages because he's Muslim. She knows, too, that he can't have ice cream because of his eczema. Some things that happen at Jamal's house are a lot different from Joseph's: the food his mother... (more)

Secrets

by Nuruddin Farah

From one of Africa's greatest living writers, a "hypnotic . . . murder mystery, family saga, magical realist thriller" (Newsday) It is the week before the outbreak of the civil war in Somalia. Kalaman, a successful young businessman in Mogadiscio receives an unexpected house guest--the wild and sexually adventurous Sholoongo, his childhood crush returned from America. She announces that she intends to have his... (more)

Crisis Response: Humanitarian Band-AIDS in Sudan and SomaliaJohn Prendergast

Crisis Response: Humanitarian Band-AIDS in Sudan and Somalia

by John Prendergast

The UN has classified 26 conflicts around the world as complex emergencies. These affect around 59 million people, a large number of them in Africa. There are currently some 70,000 peace keepers in 70 countries serving 17 missions, all requiring different humanitarian responses. The war-induced famine in Sudan and Somalia has received a huge international response, but has raised questions about the most effective... (more)

Stoics without Pillows: A Way Forward For The SomalilandsJohn Drysdale

Stoics without Pillows: A Way Forward For The Somalilands

by John Drysdale

In the Hot Zone: One Man, One Year, Twenty-one Wars

In the Hot Zone: One Man, One Year, Twenty-one Wars

by Kevin Sites

Kevin Sites is a man on a mission. Venturing alone into the dark heart of war, armed with just a video camera, a digital camera, a laptop, and a satellite modem, the award-winning journalist covered virtually every major global hot spot as the first Internet correspondent for Yahoo! News. Beginning his journey with the anarchic chaos of Somalia in September 2005 and ending with the Israeli-Hezbollah war in the... (more)

The Last Camel: True Stories of Somalia

by Jeanne D'Haem

"The stories in The Last Camel deal with fiction, facticity, and the space between the two. never the swashbuckling Peace Corps volunteer, D'Haem's stories teem with compassion, impish curiousity, and downright humility. The stories introduce all sorts of characters, delightful and/or frightening. These are tales of exposure and advocacy woven with care and diligence. The result is a brilliant tapestry... (more)

L'esecuzione: Inchiesta sull'uccisione di Ilaria Alpi e Miran Hrovatin (Libertaria)

Text: Italian

Shelfari Book Activity

Tags: somalia

by Mark Bowden

by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

by Waris Dirie

by Steven Hartov, Michael J. Durant

by Mark Bowden

by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

by Robert D. Kaplan

by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

by Aman, Janice Boddy, Virginia Lee Barnes

by Matthew Eck

by Sabina Lautensach, Peter Greener

by Kenneth John Menkhaus

by David Haines, Anthony Ciccone

by Anna McQuinn

by Nuruddin Farah

by John Prendergast

by John Drysdale

by Kevin Sites

by Jeanne D'Haem