First published 2005
Bernard-Henri Lévy, the author who investigated Daniel Pearl's murder, travels to five war zones the world has abandoned. He conducts a secret interview with a young woman who fled a suicide bomber training camp in Sri Lanka. Blindfolded, he ventures into Colombian jungles to meet a drug lord who believes he carries Che Guevara's legacy while commanding a brutal guerrilla force. Lévy watches nameless slaves labor in Angolan diamond mines that finance perpetual conflict. He airdrops into rebel territory in Sudan's blockaded Nuba mountains. In Burundi, he documents the continuing violence between Hutus and Tutsis. Through these first-person encounters, Lévy exposes how terrorism takes root in places the international community ignores. His investigation reveals the human cost of forgotten wars and the conditions that breed extremism.
Genres: history, politics, non-fiction, current-affairs, africa, academic
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: first-person-narrative, investigative-journalism
Setting: Sri Lanka, Colombia, Angola, Sudan, Burundi
Period: 21st-century
400 pages · Paperback · Gerald Duckworth & Co Ltd
Content warnings: violence, war