Famine Crimes: Politics & the Disaster Relief Industry in Africa Paperback – October 19, 2009

Was used so very affordable and it was in good condition.

There is a deep gouge in the book that has damaged the binding and about 24 pages inside the book.The shipping material was not damaged, just the book.

This is another account of the crime against a population that is happening every day at tax payers expenses. How many books will it take on the subject matter to have the public at wide take the matter up and put it on the G20 agenda where it rightly belongs. The reading of this sorry account enraged me. Please read this book and others such as 'U.N. a Cosa Nostra' or ' The road to hell:...' U.N. a Cosa Nostra: The workings of an organization 'helping' the poorest of the world (Volume 1) The Road to Hell: The Ravaging Effects of Foreign Aid and International Charity

This was a trenchant book, which I read in 2008. It examines things deeper than headlines and short articles can do. So often we are presented with crises of our own making. This book examines the fundamental structural causes of African famine. How many times after it was written did famine keep occurring in a world with so much food waste?

More research needs to be done to explain why people are dying from starvation in a world full of wealth and food. Why hasn't Lord Rothschild or George Soros offered one crum of food to these betrayed people? Maybe the rich are predestined to flaunt their wealth in this life and to live eternally in damnation. If I had the capabilities, I couldn't live with it if I squandered it.

Grown-ups should know that journalists rarely get their stories right. This book, presented as a straightforward examination of the NGO's 'Aid-Game' and their complementary 'Aid-Circus', ends up being all the more poignant when it targets Western misconceptions and the Neo-colonialism that has installed itself in the Western media and elites under the catchphrase 'Humanitarian Intervention'. You don't have to believe me - just read this fantastic book, written by a former member of the NGO's international, and find out how and why famines really start and really end, as opposed as what you hear on newspapers and TV. If you wanna know why Black Hawk went down, this is the book to start. If you remember those Ethiopian children you thought you saved by buying tickets for charity concerts, maybe you wanna know the truth.

De Waal's basic line is that a) famine can be a weapon of war; b) a 'political contract' is needed between people and state to ensure that famine is averted and if experienced, then government is accountable; c) the aid industry often negatively influences humanitarian crises.The second argument is possibly the take-away idea from the book and certainly the idea is referenced in many other works on this topic. In light of that, if the reader seeks information solely about the 'political contract' idea, then this is the source document, but an outline of this is available in a number of articles and other places. The majority of the book consists of case studies, which exemplify the arguments he makes. Bearing this in mind, students looking for this in isolation would be compelled to read a lot of other material.However, when taken altogether, it is a well-rounded 'complete' book that sweeps across a broad range of issues; particular attention is paid to Biafra, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia and the Great Lakes, which each have substantial and detailed chapters, exploring the historical details and their relation to his bigger ideas.An important academic work.

Spelling out the unfortunate truth. Disturbing and highly relevant at the same time, especially for those of us regularly involved in humanitarian work, not only related to famine. It is a sad fact that real humanity rarely exists and most interactions are directed by commercial interests :(