by Nick Turse
First published 2016
In spring 2015, journalist Nick Turse journeys across South Sudan as civil war tears the world's newest nation apart. For six weeks, he moves on foot and by vehicle through a landscape of violence, documenting how conflict destroys lives. He speaks with military commanders and child soldiers forced into battle. He interviews UN officials struggling to maintain order and aid workers racing to help the displaced. He records the voices of civil servants, activists, and families whose homes and communities have vanished. Turse witnesses how ordinary people endure when their world collapses around them. This is not a story about military strategy or political maneuvering. Instead, it reveals the human cost of endless war in one of the poorest regions on earth. Through direct observation and personal testimony, Turse shows how survival becomes the only goal when civilization breaks down.
Genres: non-fiction, 21st-century, journalism, africa
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: documentary, witness-testimony
Setting: South Sudan
Period: 2015
160 pages · Paperback · Haymarket Books
Content warnings: violence, war