From Daunt Books in London: Two Recommended Reads

I was in London a few months ago and as usual, I try to take the opportunity to visit Daunt Books shop in Marylebone. The Africa section downstairs is incredibly well stocked. I bought two interesting reads which I devoured quickly and which I wish to recommend here:

1) "Chief of Station, Congo" by L. Devlin

Published in 2007, Larry Devlin's autobiographical novel on his years as CIA station chief in DR Congo during the crucial years following the country's independence and subsequent coup by Mobutu at the beginning of the 1960s, is an interesting account of Cold War US-Soviet power struggle in Central Africa. For those who have lived in the Congo recently and Kinshasa in particular, this is an enjoyable read as Devlin's depiction of that period is eye-opening.

One realises sadly that nothing much has changed in the past 50 years and worryingly, as the UN's mission in the Congo (MONUC) announces the possible withdrawal of a portion of its 20,0000 peacekeeping troups as early as June 2010, the fate of that country seems somewhat unpredictable.

2) "Emergency Sex and other Desperate Measures: True Stories from a War Zone" by K. Cain, H. Postlewait and A. Thomson

This book was recommended to me by a DFID colleague. Highly controversial and refreshingly blunt, the books' authors recount their actual experiences as three UN aid workers during the 1990s, in some of the most tragic conflict contexts of that era, namely Cambodia, Haiti, Somalia, Rwanda and Bosnia. Interesting perspectives on life and work in those war zones, quite familiar to those of us who have experienced similar situations.