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Despite advances in modern communication and the proliferation of information, there remain areas of the world about which little is known. One such place is Somalia. The informed public is aware of a political meltdown and consequent chaos there, but few comprehend the causes of this tragic crisis. This new edition covers Somalia's origin, history, culture, and language, as well as current economic and political issues.The alphabetical arrangement of this Dictionary, with a complete chronology, list of acronyms, and in-depth bibliography provide useful information about the country in a convenient format.A vital addition to reference collections supporting undergraduate and graduate programs on Africa and the Middle East, international relations, and economics- a useful fact-filled compendium for government and public libraries, NGO's, and other special libraries ... Read more

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Ioan Lewis details the history and culture of the Somali people, providing a unique window into this little-known culture and its increasingly public predicaments. He provides insight into the complex social, historical, and cultural hinterland that is the Somali heritage and pays close attention to the pervasive influence of traditional nomadism, especially its extremely decentralized nature.

Lewis also addresses developments in the Somali political region since the collapse of the Republic in 1991, including the formation and steady development of the democratic state of Somaliland. Though it has grown into a de facto personality, this self-governing outpost of democracy is still officially unrecognized internationally. Lewis concludes with a discussion of the Islamist movement that brought a brief but astonishing period of stability to much of Southern Somalia in late 2006.

Product Description
This country shares the status of Afghanistan until recently of being without a government. It also seems to be a possible nesting ground for members of the al-Qaeda terror network. Somalia has been in the world spotlight numerous times in the 1990s. This book brings together important issues of Somalia along with a brief version of its history and a selective bibliography. ... Read more

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The Fourth Edition of this history shows the amazing continuity of Somali forms of social organisation and the ingenuity with which the Somali way of life has adapted to all forms of modernity. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A Modern History of the Somali
The fourth edition (2002) of I.M. Lewis' A History of the Somali is described on the back cover as "Somalia's most definitive history updated," and it is indeed a comprehensive survey of Somali history, opening at about the tenth century A.D.Those interested in reading the book for the insights it might provide about the Somalia of today will probably find most of this history to be of little interest, and evidently to some extent the book's reputation rests in part on its being among the first English language studies of the subject.That said, however, there are detailed discussions of colonialism in Somalia, colonial boundaries and administration, Somali independence, Siad Barre's regime, the 1977-1978 Ogaden War with Ethiopia, the United Nations intervention in the early 1990s, and the "descent into chaos" beginning in 1991, all of which are important to understanding Somalia in the 21st century.The book also covers some of the subsequent efforts to create a new, viable Somalia, however, seven years after publication there is now much more that could be said on that subject.

The book's comprehensive discussion of clans and clan politics is another strength.It is no exaggeration to say that in order to fully understand any historical event in Somalia it is necessary to know the clan affiliations of those involved.Lewis consistently discusses the role of the clans in his analyses of post-colonial historical events in Somalia, and this emphasis both helps communicate the clan's paramount importance and explain various outcomes.If it weren't for clan insights being distributed throughout the book, it would be possible to pick up A Modern History of the Somali, read the later chapters, and come away with a working knowledge of modern Somalia, but as it is it's best to start at the beginning.

Somali history in detail
I.M. Lewis is the recognized expert on Somali cultural anthropology.He presents detailed and accurate information on clan and family structure that aids in understanding issues facing the culture (and nation/s) today. ... Read more

Product Description
By 1992, starvation, disease, and death had engulfed Somalia and its people. Plagued by the violence of civil war, Somalia had become a country with few resources and great despair electricity, communications, transportation, health services, and food were all in short supply.

As disaster befell the country, the international community proved unwilling or unable to provide the humanitarian and peacekeeping assistance that was desperately needed. The result, contends Mohamed Sahnoun, UN special representative to Somalia in 1992, was the continued spread of a tragedy that had already reached unthinkable proportions.

In this compelling volume, Sahnoun describes his first-hand experience in Somalia and argues that if the international community and specifically the United Nations had intervened earlier and more effectively, much of the catastrophe that unfolded could have been avoided.

In part a vivid personal memoir and in part a case study of multilateral intervention, the book provides concrete examples of how the failure of international intervention in different phases of the crisis in Somalia led to further deterioration. The author also assesses the reasons for the absence of adequate and timely action and examines how the United Nations can better fulfill its expanded role in promoting stability and providing humanitarian relief in the future. ... Read more

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This superb portrait of one of the world's most desolate, sun-scorched lands, inhabited by fiercely independent tribesmen, is Rageh Omer's favorite book on his native land. A grueling description of a little-known aspect of WWII, Warriors describes a group of British Army soldiers charged with preventing bloodshed between feuding tribes at a remote outstation in Somalia. Hanley turns this period of his life, a difficult time that drove seven officers to suicide, into a devastating critique of imperialism. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

One of the most extraordinary books I have read
this is a hasty review. If you want to know about life in very hard places and times where people live constantly on the border beetween life and death and to undersand how people survive, love, live and die in suchplaces then read this book.

One of the best at understanding Somalia
Though describing a bygone era in Somalia, this book has few peers when it comes to giving an up-close-and-personal view of the Somalis. Anyone wishing to understand how the US and United Nations came to get so mired inthis Horn of Africa country should read this book--and note the lessonsthat that were never learned before the 1992-1993 humanitarian and militaryintervention there. ... Read more

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Somalia, the Horn of Africa nation, is finally recovering from recent wars and famine. Written by a native Somali, Culture and Customs of Somalia gives students and interested readers an in-depth look at the land and people, past and present. It is the only accessible, comprehensive, and up-to-date general reference on this country. Somalia was once colonized by Europeans, but Abdullahi's superb survey, with its historical context, evokes a Somaliland from a Somali viewpoint. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An introduction to Somalia.
Having a strong interest in the culture of the African Horn I read this book on Somalia for further insight into one of the African continent's most interesting and remote countries.Somalia has a fascinating culture making it unqiue in Africa for being a transition zone from the Muslim north to the Christain/Animist South.The Somali culture long based on clans is also unique to the Sub-Saharan African realm in that the Somali population is relatively homogenous.Ninety nine percent of the Somali population speak the same language and share the same culture despite being fractured by ruling clans.
This book gives a wonderful introduction and detailed description of the country's culture, history and political-economic situation.The only problem is that more quality pictures should of been added to give the reader a more acurate picture of Somalia rather than being a desolate desert land with starving people.Other than that this book is gold. ... Read more

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Somalia came to the world's attention in 1992 when television and newspapers began to report on the terrifyingly violent war and the famine that resulted. Half a million Somalis died that year, and over a million fled the country. Cameras followed US troops as they landed on the beaches at Mogadishu to lead what became an ill-fated UN intervention to end hunger and restore peace.

In this book, Somali women write and talk about the war, their experiences and the unacceptable choices they often faced. They explain clearly, in their own words, the changes, challenges – and sometimes the opportunities – that war brought, and how they coped with them.

Key themes include the slaughter and loss of men, who were the prime target for killings; rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war; changing roles in the family and within the pastoralist economy;women mobilising for peace; and leading social recovery in a war-torn society.

This book is not only an important record of women's experience of war, but also provides researchers and students of gender and conflict with rare first hand accounts highlighting the impact of war on gender relations, and women's struggle for equal political rights in a situation of state collapse. ... Read more

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Good Read for Policy Makers, Peace Keepers & NGO's
Kenneth Allard presents a succinct analysis of some of the challenges of operating in peace keeping deployments.He traces lessons learned through the planning, deployment, operations and support phases of the three different Somalia missions from August 1992 to March 1994.Relying on joint military doctrine, he compares the actual reports generated during and after the missions to the theoretical and doctrinal concepts of how operations should occur.Although his emphasis focuses on the military aspects of the Somalia missions, it includes ideas on interactions with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's) like the Red Cross, coalition partners, and belligerents.The focus on civil military operations is especially relevant to civil affairs and psychological operations professionals.

Useful aspects of the book are the appendices which include a listing of humantiarian relief organizations that were in country, as well as the missions and structure of the Civil Military Operations Center (CMOC).The book also includes charts which outline the command relationships within the different Joint Task Forces (JTF's) established.Notably absent from Somalia Operations: Lessons Learned are footnotes and an index.Although Allard includes a selected bibliography in appendix A, it mainly serves to direct the military leader to sources of further reading.The lack of footnotes prevents scholars from reviewing the exact location of sources quoted within the book.Regardless, the book admirably draws heavily from quotes of senior leaders and after action reports.

This is a must read for any military professional who will deploy into a peace keeping environment like the Balkans.Also, leaders working within multinational humanitarian relief agencies and coalition forces will benefit from reviewing U.S. lessons learned in Somalia.These lessons are bound to be repeated if we don't learn from past mistakes.

Highly recommended. ... Read more

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Since the final collapse of Somalia's repressive regime in 1991, Somalia has presented the world not only with the most profound case of state collapse witnessed in modern times but also with one of the most intriguing cases of political fragmentation, armed conflicts, lawlessness and statelessness. Inevitably the last 20 years of statelessness and chaos has left the Somali economy destitute and made Somalia to be ranked among the five poorest 'countries' in the world. Contributors to this volume examine efforts at reconstituting the failed Somali state and the role of the Somali Diaspora and civil society groups in the processes. They also analyse how the Somali Diaspora and civil society in Somalia engage and cooperate to further processes of state-reconstitution in Somalia as well as help the Somali Diaspora adjust in their host nations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

no happy ending
The unsettled saga of Somalia seems to bleed on and on. Been well over a decade of quasi-anarchy. And some observers would argue about the "quasi". Well, the book's contributors offer a 2007-written analysis of the present sorry situation.

An entire set of chapters deals with the ever-growing diaspora. Scattered from Finland to UK to US. I never even knew there were Somalis in Finland. But a chapter on this group explains how they are [more or less] settling in there.

The second part of the book discusses Somalia itself. Islamism is one issue. Another is the various external actors in the ongoing peace process. Somalia's neighbours naturally have an acute interest in influencing this process.

There is no happy ending to the book. ... Read more

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The international humanitarian intervention in Somalia was one of the most challenging operations ever conducted by US and UN military forces. Until Somalia, the UN had never run a Chapter VII exercise with large numbers of troops operating under a fighting mandate. It became a deadly test of the UN s ability carry out a peace operation using force against an adversary determined to sabotage the intervention.

Humanitarianism Under Fire is a candid, detailed historical and political narrative of this remarkably complicated intervention that was one of the first cases of multilateral action in the post-Cold War era. Rutherford presents new information gleaned from interviews and intensive research in five countries. His evidence shows how Somalia became a turning point in the relationship between the UN and US and how policy and strategy decisions in military operations continue to refer back to this singular event, even today. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

This book will give you a good idea of what happened in Somalia!
Humanitarianism under fire tells a thorough story of what happened in Somalia in 1993 and before.This is a scholarly part memoir that provides a full accounting of the history behind what happened.It answers the questions why Bush went into Somalia and why did Clinton fail in Somalia.The book Black Hawk Down tells the story of the fighting in Somalia.This book provides a prelude to why we were there.

John Navarra
Daytona Beach, FL ... Read more

Product Description
The goal of the book is to educate those who would like to know what Somalia was to those who served there.Most of the veterans of operations there have quietly moved on with their lives after receiving little recognition for their service, while most in the general public only remember the negative aspects of what happened on a single day, 3 October 1993, forgetting the courage shown on that day, and the service of those who came before and after.Eyes Over Mogadishu brings the reader through the whole experience, from preparing for movement, deploying to Mogadishu, and then the return home.

Product Description
This book analyzes crucial episodes in the recent political history of the Somali people. In their complicated dialogue with modernity , the Somalis illustrate the extremes of modern African statehood. In contemporary Somalia which, for twenty years has not been a functional political reality, they have produced a failed state par excellence. In the neighboring and smaller Somaliland Republic, however, they have achieved what is widely regarded as one of the more effective states in the continent. Ironically while dysfunctional Somalia, despite its collapse, is still internationally recognized, functional Somaliland has yet to receive formal recognition. The successful political integration achieved in Somaliland is the result of a long-drawn out process of indigenous, low budget, grass-roots peace-making and nation-building , without parallel in Somalia. There, the peace-process , has chiefly been the work of external agencies (at huge cost), with insufficient knowledge of, and sensitivity to, local structures and processes. Somalia is still vainly seeking peace but the process has been profoundly complicated by the invasion of Saudi fundamentalist movements such as al-Shabaab , with its al-Quaeda associations, and global jihadist aspirations. Local Somali Islamists tend to react hostilely to these extremists whom they regard as attempting to exploit the poverty and backwardness of their country for their own purposes, and with little concern for genuine Somali interests. The conflict between these fundamentalists and traditional Sufi Muslims is currently a major source of internal disunity and fuels Somalia s notoriety as a potential haven for international terrorism. The traditionally based piracy, which in the present destitute circumstances of the unemployed in Puntland (in the north-east of the country), has become a major local industry, adds to the very negative image of Somalia as a failed state, a country that can neither provide for nor protect and police its starving citizens. This is a terrible conclusion to a process of political modernization which started with such verve and promise. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

WONDERFULL AND REALITY WRITER
It is most praised and most wonderfull book that ever man has written about somalia.if you want the truth of somali socio-religious culture read this book.It can satisfy you.But the book is incomlete because of Alijimale forget to mention in his Book the owners of somalia.THE MIDGAANS,orBOON thier origins,culture, status,and their Genealogies. are they somalianor not ? ! this is only his limitation. No body can prove the reality,butthis book is closest.I agree with author most of his ideas. I called "this book."CLAN IN SOMALIA IS SOMETHINGJOINED TOGETHER"

Thepresident of Somali United Minorities

WONDERFULL AND REALITY WRITER
It is most praised and most wonderfull book that ever man has written about somalia.if you want the truth of somali socio-religious culture read this book.It can satisfy you.But the book is incomlete because of Alijimale forget to mention in his Book the owners of somalia.THE MIDGAANS,orBOON thier origins,culture, status,and their Genealogies. are they somalianor not ? ! this is only his limitation. No body can prove the reality,butthis book is closest.I agree with author most of his ideas. I called "this book."CLAN IN SOMALIA IS SOMETHINGJOINED TOGETHER"

Thepresident of Somali United Minorities ... Read more