(This is an OLDIE – an old review from years ago! My views and opinions might have changed since then.) This book is a political biography of one of the most important and least known British colonialists, George Goldie.Born into a wealthy Manx family, Goldie “revived the chartered company as a method of acquiring andContinue reading "(OLDIE!) Review: “Sir George Goldie and the Making of Nigeria” – J. E. Flint"
(OLDIE!) Review: “A History of Niger, 1850-1960” – Finn Fuglestad
(This is an OLDIE – an old review from years ago! My views and opinions might have changed since then.) A better title for Finn Fuglestad’s “A History of Niger: 1850-1960” would be “Niger: The French Weren’t That Bad,” since the Fuglestad’s seems intent on whitewashing French colonialism in Africa.An example of this pro-French biasContinue reading "(OLDIE!) Review: “A History of Niger, 1850-1960” – Finn Fuglestad"
(OLDIE!) Review: “State of Rebellion: Violence and Intervention in the Central African Republic” – Louisa Lombard
(This is an OLDIE – an old review from years ago! My views and opinions might have changed since then.) Louisa Lombard’s “State of Rebellion: Violence and Intervention in the Central African Republic” is not like most other books written on African conflicts. The author examines conflicts in the Central African Republic (CAR) through anContinue reading "(OLDIE!) Review: “State of Rebellion: Violence and Intervention in the Central African Republic” – Louisa Lombard"
(OLDIE!) Review: “The Trial of Hissène Habré: How the People of Chad Brought a Tyrant to Justice” – Celeste Hicks
(This is an OLDIE – an old review from years ago! My views and opinions might have changed since then.) In 2016, the Extraordinary African Chambers (EAC) found Chad’s former warlord dictator, Hissene Habre, who seized power in 1982 with the support of the U.S. and France, guilty of war crimes, crimes against humanity andContinue reading "(OLDIE!) Review: “The Trial of Hissène Habré: How the People of Chad Brought a Tyrant to Justice” – Celeste Hicks"
(OLDIE!) Review: “Fiji: Race and Politics in an Island State” – Michael C. Howard
(This is an OLDIE – an old review from years ago! My views and opinions might have changed since then.) Michael Howard’s “Fiji: Race and Politics in an Island State” provides interesting insight into Fijian and Pacific politics, despite its liberal weaknesses. Fiji, the author argues, is no democratic and racial paradise but rather isContinue reading "(OLDIE!) Review: “Fiji: Race and Politics in an Island State” – Michael C. Howard"
(OLDIE!) Review: “West Papua: The Obliteration of a People” – Carmel Budiardjo and Liem Soei Liong
(This is an OLDIE – an old review from years ago! My views and opinions might have changed since then.) Although I had heard of Indonesia’s occupation of West Papua, the Western half of the island of New Guinea, mostly through a few rap/hip-hop songs I listen to, I wasn’t as familiar with it asContinue reading "(OLDIE!) Review: “West Papua: The Obliteration of a People” – Carmel Budiardjo and Liem Soei Liong"
(OLDIE!) Review: “Politics in Sierra Leone, 1947-1967” -John R. Cartwright
(This is an OLDIE - an old review from years ago! My views and opinions might have changed since then.) John R. Cartwright, in “Politics in Sierra Leone, 1947-1967,” attempts to provide a thorough analysis of how Sierra Leone’s political system. I write that the author ‘attempts to provide’ because whether he is successful inContinue reading "(OLDIE!) Review: “Politics in Sierra Leone, 1947-1967” -John R. Cartwright"
Review: “Zapata and the Mexican Revolution” – John Womack, Jr.
In “Zapata and the Mexican Revolution”, John Womack, Jr., provides an incredibly detailed history of the activities of Emiliano Zapata (1879-1919) during the Mexican Revolution (1910-20). As someone that is not that familiar with either Zapata or the Mexican Revolution, I found this book a bit overwhelming! There is so much information that it wasContinue reading "Review: “Zapata and the Mexican Revolution” – John Womack, Jr."
Review: “Cuba & Angola: The War for Freedom” – Harry “Pombo” Villegas
“Cuba & Angola: The War for Freedom” is a firsthand account of Cuba’s internationalist mission in Angola. Within months of achieving independence from Portugal after more than 400 years of colonial rule, Angola was attacked by Zairean and South African forces and mercenaries. Between 1975-91, in response to a call for assistance by Angola’s leaders,Continue reading "Review: “Cuba & Angola: The War for Freedom” – Harry “Pombo” Villegas"
Review: “How the National Question was Solved in Soviet Central Asia (A Reply to Falsifiers)” – R. Tuzmuhamedov
R. Tuzmuhamedov’s “How the National Question was Solved in Soviet Central Asia” offers a superb analysis of the socialist transformation of Soviet Central Asia. Most of the book is what you would expect from something published by Progress Publishers: constant praise for Lenin and the Great October Socialist Revolution (not that I think that’s aContinue reading "Review: “How the National Question was Solved in Soviet Central Asia (A Reply to Falsifiers)” – R. Tuzmuhamedov"
Review: “Tajikistan: A Political and Social History” – Kirill Nourzhanov and Christian Bleuer
Kirill Nourzhanov and Christian Bleuer's "Tajikistan: A Political and Social History" offers the most comprehensive analysis of the history of Tajikistan that I have ever read. The main purpose of the book is to understand the causes of the Tajik Civil War (1992-97), one of the deadliest conflicts in the former USSR. More specifically, NourzhanovContinue reading "Review: “Tajikistan: A Political and Social History” – Kirill Nourzhanov and Christian Bleuer"
Review: “A History Of The Ogaden (Western Somali) Struggle For Self Determination” – Mohamed Mohamud Abdi
Mohamed Mohamud Abdi’s “A History of the Ogaden (Western Somali) Struggle for Self-Determination” examines the history of the Somali people’s struggle for self-determination from Ethiopia and the reunification of all Somali lands (Kenya’s NFD, Ethiopia’s Ogaden, Djibouti, and Somalia). Abdi, an economist by training and a refugee from the Ogaden, starts by providing a historicalContinue reading "Review: “A History Of The Ogaden (Western Somali) Struggle For Self Determination” – Mohamed Mohamud Abdi"
Review: “Third World Colonialism and Strategies of Liberation: Eritrea and East Timor Compared” – Awet Tewelde Weldemichael
Professor Awet Tewelde Weldemichael's "Third World Colonialism and Strategies of Liberation: Eritrea and East Timor Compared" offers an excellent and unique analysis of Third World 'secondary colonialism' — when former colonial territories, namely Ethiopia and Indonesia, become themselves the colonizers, in this case of Eritrea and East Timor, respectively. Weldemichael's primary object of investigation isContinue reading "Review: “Third World Colonialism and Strategies of Liberation: Eritrea and East Timor Compared” – Awet Tewelde Weldemichael"
Review: “The Baloch and Balochistan: A Historical Account from the Beginning to the Fall of the Baloch State” – Naseer Dashti
Naseer Dashti's "The Baloch and Balochistan: A Historical Account from the Beginning to the fall of the Baloch State" is an absolutely outstanding scholarly work not only on the Baloch people and Balochistan, but of the whole Middle East, South and Central Asia. In the first part of the book, Dashti, who holds a Ph.D.Continue reading "Review: “The Baloch and Balochistan: A Historical Account from the Beginning to the Fall of the Baloch State” – Naseer Dashti"
Review: “Ethnicity, Nationalism and Conflict in the South Caucasus: Nagorno-Karabakh and the Legacy of Soviet Nationalities Policy” – Ohannes Geukjian
Ohannes Geukjian's "Ethnicity, Nationalism and Conflict in the South Caucasus: Nagorno-Karabakh and the Legacy of Soviet Nationalities Policy" offers a comprehensive and rather unique analysis of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and Soviet nationalities policy in the South Caucasus. A professor at the American University in Beirut, Lebanon, Geukjian's analysis of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is unique inContinue reading "Review: “Ethnicity, Nationalism and Conflict in the South Caucasus: Nagorno-Karabakh and the Legacy of Soviet Nationalities Policy” – Ohannes Geukjian"
Review: “Afghanistan: A History from 1260 to the Present” – Jonathan L. Lee
Jonathan L. Lee's "Afghanistan: A History from 1260 to the Present" is one of the best histories of Afghanistan I've ever read, and easily the most comprehensive. I think only Y. V. Gankovsky's "A History of Afghanistan" (1982) is better, but that might be because Gankovsky was a Soviet scholar on Afghanistan ;). Lee isContinue reading "Review: “Afghanistan: A History from 1260 to the Present” – Jonathan L. Lee"
Review: “Armenia’s Future Relations with Turkey and the Karabagh Conflict” – Levon Ter-Petrossian
This book is a collection of articles and speeches by Levon Ter-Petrossian, the first president of post-Soviet Armenia (1991-98). Ter-Petrossian is a anti-socialist, Western-style neoliberal, who was "close friends" with Russia's Boris Yeltsin. But as much as I disagree - or more accurately vehemently oppose - his politics, in his analysis of Armenia's relations withContinue reading "Review: “Armenia’s Future Relations with Turkey and the Karabagh Conflict” – Levon Ter-Petrossian"
Review: “Contested Territories and International Law: A Comparative Study of the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict and the Aland Islands Precedent” – Kamal Makili-Aliyev
When Kamal Makili-Aliyev's "Contested Territories and International Law: A Comparative Study of the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict and the Aland Islands Precedent" arrived in the mail, I was really, really excited to read it. I thought - and still do think - that comparing the disputes between the Aland Islands and Nagorno-Karabakh was a brilliant and novelContinue reading "Review: “Contested Territories and International Law: A Comparative Study of the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict and the Aland Islands Precedent” – Kamal Makili-Aliyev"
Review: “The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: A Legal Analysis” – Heiko Kruger
Heiko Kruger's "The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: A Legal Analysis" is the worst book on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict that I have read, right next to Bahruz Balayev’s “The Right to Self-Determination in the South Caucasus”. Instead of being an objective legal analysis of Nagorno-Karabakh’s right to secession under international law, Kruger’s book is imperialist apologeticism and ArmenophobiaContinue reading "Review: “The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: A Legal Analysis” – Heiko Kruger"
Review: “Self-Determination of Peoples: A Legal Reappraisal” – Antonio Cassese
Antonio Cassese’s “Self-Determination of Peoples: A Legal Reappraisal” is an excellent legal analysis of the evolution and application of the right of peoples to self-determination in international law. The first chapter examines the origins of the right of peoples to self-determination in the American Declaration of Independence (1776) and especially in the French Revolution (1789).Continue reading "Review: “Self-Determination of Peoples: A Legal Reappraisal” – Antonio Cassese"
T. J. Petrowski 