The Graves Are Not Yet Full Reprint edition by Berkeley, Bill (2002) Paperback

by Bill Berkeley

Since 1983 journalist Bill Berkeley has traveled through Africa's most troubled lands to seek out the tyrants and military leaders who orchestrate these nations' seemingly intractable wars. Shattering once and for all the myth that ancient tribal hatreds lay at the heart of the continent's troubles, Berkeley instead holds accountable the "Big Men" who came to power during this period, describing the very rational methods behind their apparent madness. Weaving together insightful historical analysis and his own keen observations of ordinary men, women, and children struggling in the midst of terrible violence, Berkeley insists that what the world often sees as uniquely "African" interethnic troubles are in fact rooted in the international politics of colonialism and the Cold War. The Graves Are Not Yet Full provides a convincing explanation for the last half-century's cycle of revolution and genocide in Africa, detailing the stirring history of these nations' quests for peace and independence over the last seventeen years. Berkeley's incisive analysis does much to bring recent African history into sharp focus while at the same time illuminating just what it is that allows societies-wherever they may be-to accept, and sometimes embrace, violence.

Genres: Africa, Nonfiction, History, Politics, South Africa, Rwanda, Holocaust

Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book, but the stories can be heartbreaking. It's very eye opening regarding the role that Western countries(especially the U.S.) played in the various wars that took place in Africa during the 80's and 90's.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice, light read about genocide and tribal hatred in Africa. The book is divided into sections on Liberia, Congo, South Africa, Sudan (with an interesting digression on Uganda) and Rwanda. The main thesis of the book is that tribal hatreds aren't to blame for the genocides in Africa. Instead, he details how tribal affiliations were exploited by those in power to preserve their power, rather than being unavoidable conflicts that were the products of age old hatred.

Berkeley has a good mix of researched history and interviews that he himself conducted. It's very apparent that Berkeley has spent a lot of time in Africa, and has a good understanding of the people and the land.

[Austra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grāmata, kas nogulēja plauktā diezgan daudzus gadus, gaidot, kad līdz tai izaugšu. Un grāmata, kuru lēnā garā lasīju vairāk kā pusgadu. Tāpat arī grāmata, no kuras šogad esmu uzzinājusi visvairāk. Lielisks piemērs tam, kādēļ ir vajadzīgi prasmīgi žurnālisti, kuru mērķis nav visvairāk klikšķu uz skandaloziem un melīgiem virsrakstiem, bet izgaismot to, kas ir paslēpts, izglītot par nezināmo un iedot balsi tiem, kuriem tā atņemta. Teicienā "Ignorance is bliss" ir tik daudz patiesības! Jo šī grāmata pārdūra manu jauko, rozā nezināšanas burbuli gan par Āfriku, gan tiem, kuri laiku lokos ir sabāzuši savus negantos pirksteļus tās katlos. Un kuri ir tie, kas par to visu beigās maksā.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have lived in East Africa, on-and-off, for over 5 years. Having lived in both Ethiopia and Uganda, I was blown away by Berkeley's accurate depiction of the modern history of this region. Berkeley's descriptive narrative of an American observing the madness of Afirca was amazing.

This book is a must read for anybody wanting to learn about current affairs in Africa, and Africa's stance in the modern geo-political arena.

[Niki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very few books need to be taken with breaks, however, due to the magnitude and emotion behind this book, taking a break every segment is recommended to digest the information you have just read. This book takes the experiences of an African journalist and mixes it with the historical information, the accounts of those involved with his writings, and the (lack of) knowledge in the West to create a vivid and captivating explanation of 6 different situations and regions of Africa. In each of the situations, the actors are presented early on and painted in a very candid and frank light, with little room for imagination and misinterpretation. Tackling the villains of Mobutu Sese Seko and Charles Taylor, as well as the atrocities of the Rwandan genocide, Berkeley exposes the flaws of the African system, the problems that colonial rule created and left to be solved by a society ill equipped to handle the lure of power and the greed of money, and explains to the reader why there are so may problems within the African continent. This book tackles the history of the continent in a very light and informative way, telling the reader exactly the key points that led up to the events he chronicles. If you ever watch the movie Hotel Rwanda or The Last King of Scotland, read this book and it will help you understand just why Africa is the way it is, and how much the negligence of the West has contributed to it.

[Ben Ricketts · Rating 4 out of 5]

To put it simply, this is a book about African conflicts in the 1990s. Berkeley’s basic thesis here is that African conflict is often misunderstood from the outside, and ethnic divisions are manipulated and stoked by those in power. Africa is not some mystical continent full of ancient tribal fractures, but a complex continent full of political players with a variety of motives. It’s also a place that has been shaped—probably more than any other—by the harsh legacies of colonialism.

This book is PACKED with information, and it can get dry at times. There are typos here and there, but it’s not too distracting.

I recommend this book if you are interested in modern African history. But be aware, it’s heavy (in terms of both graphic detail and absolute loads of information).

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

Only the second book ever I could not finish. Yes...I rated and am reviewing it even though I didn't read the whole thing. WAY to much politics for me. Not into politics AT ALL. Don't talk about it. Don't watch it on TV. And don't like reading about it either. Outside of personal research I do before voting, I want nothing to do with it. If you want to learn about how Africa's politics have caused so much death and destruction, you'll probably like it. I got about half way through the book and had had enough. Not going to say it's a bad book, just saying it wasn't what I was hoping for. I didn't enjoy it.

[Amy Rollo · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't even read it. I'm very interested in the content, but it was such a dense and matter-of-fact read that I had to put it down not even 100 pages in. This is only the second book I've ever started and not finished.

[Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is dense but not particularly well structured, which I found to detract from the author's arguments. His central premise (if I apprehended it correctly) is an interesting one, however.

[Show Off · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some bias in favor if American imperialsm. But otherwise informative

[Russell Kapryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book from which to read to learn about Africa's issues of war, genocide, corruption and other problems that plagued countries such as Liberia, the Congo (formerly Zaire) South Africa, Uganda, Sudan, and Rwanda in the late 20th Century. Within this book you will learn that these issues were not necessarily born of spears and tribalism but that they often originated from the top down. That is, starting from the often well-educated leaders to the largely uneducated citizens that problems manifested themselves.

You will also learn that many of these problems were caused as a result of outside global influences and colonization from Europe; for example, despots were allowed to remain in power as it suited global interests but at the expense and detriment of their citizens.

The section on Sudan was particularly striking as the author goes into depth about the massive logistical problems he faced navigating the country in the early 1980's. An example would be travel plans that would take three days elsewhere in the world would take three weeks due to issues such as washed out roads or lack of fuel available to boats, trains and buses.

[Sawyer Lowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

My dad sent me this book. Helpful resource and easy to read.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is a really easy read, albeit very tragic. It tells the history of Africa in post-decolonization by looking at a couple of sample countries. I read it in college, but it has stuck with me.

[Kyle Bonney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Outstanding synopsis - wish there was a sequel covering the last 20 years.

Convincingly shows how Big Men stoked ethnic tensions for their own gain with horrible effect, almost always without regret or remorse. Also how hard these cycles are to break. Other strands: the various roles of institutions, US / Cold War, imperial legacy / indirect rule, degree guilt shared by people who committed the crimes

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read a reasonable number of books on conflicts in Africa and this one I found pretty average.

I thought it did a good job of describing harrowing situations without sensationalising the events. It is also quite refreshing to read an account of Africa's genocidal attrocities and wars which is not afraid to criticise and lay blame at the door of African leaders. It has a few short forays into discussions of the West's influence (focused mostly on the role of USA)- most notably in the chapter on Crocker's actions in Liberia - however for the most part it focuses on the African men who played major roles in some of the continents darkest moments.

However, whilst it was readible and clearly well researched with interesting interviews with most of the main characters, I didnt love the book. Berkeley is first and foremost a journalist and so much of the book is highly personal descriptions of his own perceptions of the men (and the book focuses solely on men, the only female voices we hear are those of victims). Of course this makes the book inevitably one-sided which I didn't really enjoy. At times it felt like some social anthropological account from a Western outsider (even though Berkely has clearly spent a lot of time in the countries he discusses). To be fair the book makes no claims of being a neutral or non-influenced view on Africa's grisley recent history but I might have liked to have seen a little more discussion around the causes, effects and influences on other actors (aid agencies, general public, governments other than the US).

My final criticism is that it focuses on a few of Africa's major attrocities; mass murder in Kwazulu Natal; civil war in Sudan and Liberia; and of course the often cited Rwanda, Uganda and DRC. These are quite well documented and discussed conflicts(very well infact)and so I didnt really learn anything new. As usual Burundi (which has suffered similar civilian mass casualities to Rwanda, Uganda &DRC was briefly dealt with in 2 sentences).

So if you are already quite read up on civil war in Africa I would suggest giving it a miss, on the otherhand if you know little about conflict in the continent it gives an interesting, personal account of some of the nastiest men in recent African history.

[Marci · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book while I was in college and then stuck it on my bookshelf where it has been for years. Before I started reading Left To Tell, I wanted to finally read this one. The book gives a general background on some of the most famous and most tragic conflicts in Africa's more recent history. I thought Bill Berkeley did a good job of squeezing LOTS of the information about the messy histories of the countries he talked about into a short book. Occasionally I would get bored, but mainly when he was talking about countries that I have always tended been less interested (while Liberia, Uganda and Rwanda were great chapters for me). I also thought he did a good job of remaining fairly unbiased about which US leaders were more to blame for their influences in the conflicts. I think it is a great overview of how these awful wars and genocides came to be for those who haven't read much else about Africa, but can get a little boring for those who have.

[Bob Schmitz · Rating 2 out of 5]

A gruesome/interesting recounting and examination of a number of atrocities in recent (30 years) African history. Over the past 25 years the author interviewed a host of the major players in these horrors and his reports on those interviews and their peculiarities are interesting as is his descriptions of just what happened in Rwanda, Liberia, RSA etc. At the same time I found the book a little tiring with the author inserted in the center of so many of the stories. His analysis of the causes of these atrocities seemed a bit simplistic (although I haven't a better idea) He makes some general suggestions about what the US and the West could have done and could do differently to have avoided the slaughters. I was not convinced. (Although who am I to say!)

[Will · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is not terrible, but it is not amazing, and it has not lasted the test of time (even though it is only ten or twelve years old). The approach to the book taken by Berkeley is merely to try to weave together a narrative of conflict in Africa through highlighting on several personal interviews he conducted over his career. This, naturally, falls somewhat short in its aims of explaining race, tribe and power. The choices that he focusses on are essentially a random assortment of conflicts, as are the interviews he relies on. Also, the whole 'colonialism screwed over Africa' thing might have been in vogue right after the violence of the 1990s, but now seems a bit of a simplistic and tired argument.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel more culturally and politically aware after reading this book. It is told from a very clear "news/reporter" perspective with a lot of details whereas I expected more personal anecdotes; however, this historical commentary was very important for me to read. It is easy to watch Hotel Rwanda to try to understand the experiences of individuals, but it is much harder to get through a very factual book. I'm very glad that I did for my own personal knowledge and understanding.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author wrote this book with quite a heavy hand. I realize that being a journalist covering African politics for decades has frustrated him, but I think his arguments were strongest when he made himself the most transparent. Unfortunately, there are times that he can't hide his almost physical disgust for the dictators who are his subjects.

[Yelena Malcolm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still not Gourevitch's book, but I don't think anything else will be, this is a good, broad look at Africa and its seemingly unending stream of disappointments and disasters. Not beach reading, by any stretch of the imagination but, for me anyway, somewhat of a responsibility given the utter dearth of world news reported in this country.

[Hans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Devastating book. My first real peek inside life in Africa. Some of the accounts were so brutal I had to put the book down as all I could do was weep. The the extent of man's savagery became very apparent to me from this book. Part of the frustration from this book is the overall pessimistic feel that there is little that can be done to help.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow - a heavy read, yet good. It looks at several recent dictators and the process that took them into power. Through this, the author hopes to show that Africa isn't inherently a "bloody continent." It does really shed light on the structures and systems which have allowed these men to come into power and challenges the conception that it is inevitable.

[Cecily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific book by a journalist. Give the perfect mix of history and personal narrative. A great picture into the Big Men of Africa (and the US) and the influence they have. Very well written and a great read.

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another chilling account of African colonialization

[Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

A broad overview of various conflicts in Africa and how nations' leadership guides the wars.

[Hannaheriley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating

[Genie McFate]

About Africa and tyranny. While the colonial system is dead, it has been replaced by the corporate colonial system that exploits termoil to obtain natural resources.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book serves as a good complement to Gourevitch's We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families.

[Samuel Gombe · Rating 5 out of 5]

our African story a sad story...brother rising against brother...be it CONGO,KENYA,NIGERIA ,SOMALIA ..the list is endless yet it is in Africa that RELIGION is central in our lives..we have even gone further to kill in the name of GOD and ALLAH..