The Night Wanderers: Uganda's Children and the Lord's Resistance Army - Softcover

Wojciech Jagielski

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1908699086 ISBN 13: 9781908699084

Publisher: Old Street Publishing, 2012

Synopsis

SHORTLISTED FOR THE RYSZARD KAPUSCINSKI PRIZE
Each night during the civil war in northern Uganda, tens of thousands of children headed for the city centres, hoping to avoid capture by the Lord's Resistance Army -- the infamous army led by Joseph Kony, and itself composed largely of kidnapped children.
The Night Wanderers masterfully evokes the postwar landscape of a country ravaged by decades of violence. It is a country of children who have been abducted from their homes and forced to kill their parents, brothers and sisters; children who, even after they have escaped the LRA, carry the weight of their own acts of murder on their shoulders as they try to return to normal life. Through their stories, the author weaves the wider history of a beautiful but blood-soaked nation, from the end of British overrule through Idi Amin's brutal dictatorship up to today's precarious peace.

About this title

Review

'There have been plenty of books on the LRA before but I very much doubt if there will be a better one than this ... [This] is far more than just a history: it's a journey into human baseness, a journey from which no one -- including Jagielski himself -- emerges unscarred, or entirely rational.'
Evening Standard

'Jagielski succeeds exquisitely in capturing the haunted atmosphere of Acholi-land, the swathe of Uganda north of the White Nile that Joseph Kony still considers his home . . . few writers have managed to muster the level of patience and empathy that suffuses Jagielski's account. Nor have they matched him in conjuring Acholi-land's sense of place: its angry storms, sweeping savannah, and rivers where spiteful water ghosts will drown even the most hardened guerrillas if they cross without removing their boots . . . wonderful'
Literary Review

'There is no better book about the recent history of Uganda'
Suddeutsche Zeitung

'Extraordinary ... Jagielski paints masterful portraits of messianic guerrilla leaders and mad dictators, but unforgettable ones of stone-faced child rebels who have been forced to kill and maim, and in the process have lost the ability to laugh, cry, or even enjoy ice cream'
Pamela Constable

'A literary masterpiece'
Wiadomosci24

'A stunning and beautiful book ... Jagielski has scaled the heights of reportage'
Ryszard Kapuscinski on Praying for Rain

'Jagielski's book sets new standards for gritty reporting'
The Economist on Towers of Stone --...

About the Author

Formerly a reporter at Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland s first and biggest independent daily, WOJCIECH JAGIELSKIhas been witness to some of the most important political events of the end of the twentieth century. He is the recipient of several of Poland s most prestigious awards for journalism, including a "Bene Merito" honorary decoration from the Polish government and the Dariusz Fikus award for excellence in journalism. Seen by many as the literary heir to Ryszard Kapu ci ski, he is the author of several books of in-depth reportage, including "Towers of Stone: The Battle of Wills in Chechnya," which won Italy s "Letterature dal Fronte Award." Arguably Poland s best-known contemporary non-fiction writer, Jagielski lives outside Warsaw."

Edition details

• Publisher: Old Street Publishing
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1908699086
• ISBN 13: 9781908699084
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320