From The American Scholar, an article on Morocco: The living and the dead. The Berlin Wall of the Desert: Stefan Simanowitz reports from Western Sahara on the wall that has separated a nation for 29 years (and more). Looting Mali: As demand for its antiquities soars, the West African country is losing its most prized artifacts to illegal sellers and smugglers. A review of The Dark Sahara: America's War on Terror in Africa by Jeremy Keenan. Back in his native Sudan for the first time in years, Jamal Mahjoub observes the capital’s newfound oil wealth and argues that focusing narrowly on Darfur while ignoring the secessionist South could spell big trouble for all of Sudan. The worst country on Earth: Piracy, poverty and perdition — Somalia takes the prize. A review of Blood River: A Journey to Africa's Broken Heart by Tim Butcher. What’s yours is mine: The scramble for the world’s resources has barely abated with the recession, and our ecological debts are mounting. We are killing in the light of God: More than five million people have died in the war that has been raging in eastern Congo, and now, yet another rebel group is at large in the country. From NYRB, a review of books on the Congo; and Dictator Mugabe makes a comeback. A review of Dinner With Mugabe: The Untold Story of a Freedom Fighter Who Became a Tyrant by Heidi Holland and Mugabe: Power, Plunder, and the Struggle for Zimbabwe by Meredith Martin. Why do South Africans hate Nigerians? Botswana, one of Africa’s most successful countries, sets a trend that more can follow (and more). An interview with Sam Kiley on books about colonial Africa.
