Rating: 
Summary: Courageous, but typically, it's all the West's fault...
Review: "Me Against My Brother" is the summary of the author's experiences in the middle of the African wars during the mid-1990s. Scott Peterson's bravery in reporting these events, which most of the civilized world simply ignored, is admirable. At the same time, his finger-pointing is overwhelmingly in the direction of the U.S. and the U.N., and it becomes tiresome.The book is broken into 3 sections focusing on Peterson's experiences in the war zones of these countries: Somalia, Sudan, and Rwanda. The section on Somalia provided a great background and lead-in to the events recently made famous through Mark Bowden's "Black Hawk Down." The Sudan chapters gave me a deeper insight into the most widely ignored African country at war in the 1990s, but disappointingly, Peterson's focus was mainly on the in-fighting between Christian factions in southern Sudan, despite the fact that the Muslim government in Khartoum (which sheltered Osama Bin Laden for years) is clearly most responsible for the horrendous slave and murder industry that still exists in Sudan to this day. Finally, Peterson's discussion of Rwanda is easily the most depressing and convicting when one considers what the U.S. and U.N. failed to prevent. Obviously, the United States and the United Nations (specifically its Western members) are worthy targets of some blame for failure to act and, possibly, for criminal behavior in some acts when intervention was attempted. But Peterson's focus is so lopsided in the direction of these governments that it almost seems he has forgotten who the actual perpetrators of the massacres were. It reminded me of a quote I read recently from a Western diplomat who was frustrated with the amazing ability of the international media to find moral equivalency between the West and the most murderous, tyrannical regimes: "They equate our imperfections with their evil." Peterson provides the perfect example of this. Despite giving accounts of the most horrific murders and evils performed by Somalian warlords, Peterson harps incessantly on American and U.N. imperfections, even claiming: "If brought before an international court, UN forces in Somalia would almost certainly have been found guilty of violating the laws of war." Reading that, I can only wonder of what Somalian warlords, who machine-gunned the women and children of their own country in order to prevent the success of U.N. airdrops of food, would be found guilty. Moral equivalency... Again, in Rwanda, the overwhelming objects of Peterson's criticism are the United States and the Clinton administration, the latter of which I was no fan. But the guilt in the United States' failure to intervene and stop the Hutus' genocidal massacres of Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994, while sad, is simply not morally comparable to what these Rwandan murderers did. Peterson seems to have lost sight of this fact. One story, for sake of example: several Belgian U.N. troops were dispatched to try and stop the killing of the Rwandan prime minister, a woman. When confronted by the advancing Hutus, these U.N. troops laid down their weapons in hopes of preventing an annhilation of both sides. In return, their Achilles tendons were eached hacked with machetes to prevent their escape. They were then castrated and gagged with their own genitalia, then killed along with the prime minister. One could scan the entire list of atrocities perpetrated by Americans throughout their country's history, and it would take a serious stretch to equate the very worst of that list to this one event in Rwanda, which occurred less than 8 years ago. Even then, those far-stretched incidents would be extreme anomalies, whereas this event was, and is, very close to the norm in Rwanda and many African and Muslim countries. Moral equivalency... This is a well-written, courageous book full of facts and events that depressingly few Americans know anything about, but it is sadly tainted by yet another member of the mainstream American and European media who is unable to differentiate between the imperfections of our leaders and societies... and the utter evil at the very core of theirs. For those of you hoping or thinking that the United States and its allies will decide once and for all to put an end to these evil regimes (Sudan and Somalia, as well as Syria, Iraq, the Palestinian Authority, etc., etc.), look no further than this book for a good example of why our leaders will continue to balk at taking the necessary (and morally justified) steps to do so anytime in the foreseeable future.
Rating:
Summary: Courageous, but typically, it's all the West's fault...
Review: "Me Against My Brother" is the summary of the author's experiences in the middle of the African wars during the mid-1990s. Scott Peterson's bravery in reporting these events, which most of the civilized world simply ignored, is admirable. At the same time, his finger-pointing is overwhelmingly in the direction of the U.S. and the U.N., and it becomes tiresome. The book is broken into 3 sections focusing on Peterson's experiences in the war zones of these countries: Somalia, Sudan, and Rwanda. The section on Somalia provided a great background and lead-in to the events recently made famous through Mark Bowden's "Black Hawk Down." The Sudan chapters gave me a deeper insight into the most widely ignored African country at war in the 1990s, but disappointingly, Peterson's focus was mainly on the in-fighting between Christian factions in southern Sudan, despite the fact that the Muslim government in Khartoum (which sheltered Osama Bin Laden for years) is clearly most responsible for the horrendous slave and murder industry that still exists in Sudan to this day. Finally, Peterson's discussion of Rwanda is easily the most depressing and convicting when one considers what the U.S. and U.N. failed to prevent. Obviously, the United States and the United Nations (specifically its Western members) are worthy targets of some blame for failure to act and, possibly, for criminal behavior in some acts when intervention was attempted. But Peterson's focus is so lopsided in the direction of these governments that it almost seems he has forgotten who the actual perpetrators of the massacres were. It reminded me of a quote I read recently from a Western diplomat who was frustrated with the amazing ability of the international media to find moral equivalency between the West and the most murderous, tyrannical regimes: "They equate our imperfections with their evil." Peterson provides the perfect example of this. Despite giving accounts of the most horrific murders and evils performed by Somalian warlords, Peterson harps incessantly on American and U.N. imperfections, even claiming: "If brought before an international court, UN forces in Somalia would almost certainly have been found guilty of violating the laws of war." Reading that, I can only wonder of what Somalian warlords, who machine-gunned the women and children of their own country in order to prevent the success of U.N. airdrops of food, would be found guilty. Moral equivalency... Again, in Rwanda, the overwhelming objects of Peterson's criticism are the United States and the Clinton administration, the latter of which I was no fan. But the guilt in the United States' failure to intervene and stop the Hutus' genocidal massacres of Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994, while sad, is simply not morally comparable to what these Rwandan murderers did. Peterson seems to have lost sight of this fact. One story, for sake of example: several Belgian U.N. troops were dispatched to try and stop the killing of the Rwandan prime minister, a woman. When confronted by the advancing Hutus, these U.N. troops laid down their weapons in hopes of preventing an annhilation of both sides. In return, their Achilles tendons were eached hacked with machetes to prevent their escape. They were then castrated and gagged with their own genitalia, then killed along with the prime minister. One could scan the entire list of atrocities perpetrated by Americans throughout their country's history, and it would take a serious stretch to equate the very worst of that list to this one event in Rwanda, which occurred less than 8 years ago. Even then, those far-stretched incidents would be extreme anomalies, whereas this event was, and is, very close to the norm in Rwanda and many African and Muslim countries. Moral equivalency... This is a well-written, courageous book full of facts and events that depressingly few Americans know anything about, but it is sadly tainted by yet another member of the mainstream American and European media who is unable to differentiate between the imperfections of our leaders and societies... and the utter evil at the very core of theirs. For those of you hoping or thinking that the United States and its allies will decide once and for all to put an end to these evil regimes (Sudan and Somalia, as well as Syria, Iraq, the Palestinian Authority, etc., etc.), look no further than this book for a good example of why our leaders will continue to balk at taking the necessary (and morally justified) steps to do so anytime in the foreseeable future.
Rating: 
Summary: ". . . The world's most sophisticated military force "
Review: ". . . The world's most sophisticated military force had been outmanuevered by a ragtag band of warriors. . ." says the author about the war in Somalia. How soon we forget that even after the relative sucess in the Gulf War, our military effort failed shortly thereafter in Somalia. According to the book, from the Somalian point of view, the cause was that Americans are unable to coordinate with each other. An expert, who was interviewed on t.v. today, expressed the view that the WTC incident was at least partly due to security lapses when the CIA, INS, and FAA did not communicate with each other. Perhaps our enemies have learned our weak spot.
For all those disappointed by the single-minded views expressed these days by the "free" American press, reading this book will reassure you that there are other views.
Rating: 
Summary: REVIEWS
Review: "In chapter after chapter, the reader is drawn into the text, vicariously bearing witness to manifold crimes against humanity and also learning about the complexities of seeking solutions...poignant portraits of suffering...A terribly important book." -Christian Science Monitor "A relentless account of local, civil, and ethnocidal war in Africa and an angry protest against the way that war's horror is compounded by cynical and ignorant bureaucrats and politicians who have not yet learned the consequences of unwise aid and intervention." -Peter Matthiessen, author of the novel Bone by Bone "While Clinton and U.S. policyholders struggle to try to find ways to make Africa relevant to Americans, Peterson goes for the jugular. In dissecting how poverty, hunger, and vengeance plunged Africa's people into the depths of hell, he has also exposed the potential vileness in all of humanity. Perhaps understanding what led to clan warfare in Somalia, religious war in Sudan, and genocide in Rwanda will frighten us into making sure brothers never turns against brothers in our own homes." -The Boston Book Review "In 'Me Against My Brother' Peterson reports from the killing fields of Somalia, Sudan and Rwanda. It is gripping stuff...This is a disturbing book. It should be required reading for all those charged with crafting America's African policy." -Washington Times
Rating:
Summary: Don't miss it
Review: A previous Amazon reviewer described this book as "dispassionate." Must have been reading a different book to the one I bought. As a former foreign correspondent (for Australian television)I also spent time in Somalia, Rwanda and Sudan. I picked up this book out of curiosity but without much in the way of expectations. Having read it, I am stunned and in awe. There are many more famous and exalted names in foreign journalism than Scott Peterson's - at least until now. The sheer passion of his reporting, the level of his commitment, his fearlessness both when faced by African violence and the equally grotesque rationalisations of those who clumsily intervene (and those who fail to intervene)deserve him a place in the highest rankings. He stuck with Somalia when most of the rest of the world lost interest (I plead guilty). He took trouble to understand the Somali perspective when most others saw it as an American story. He writes illuminatingly about Sudan - perhaps the world's most overlooked war zone, rich in terrible, hopeless, wasteful loss. His writings on Rwanda add renewed freshness to the gut-churning horrors of the genocide - after Gourevitch's "We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families" apparently left little more to be said. Peterson returns the degraded craft of journalism to its purest form: he "bears witness." He risks his life to do so. He loses friends. He confesses his fear. He disdains received wisdom. He redeems the lazy journalism of the pampered hacks with one eye on the room service menu and the other on how well their "heroism" will play back home. Anyone with an interest in Africa, reporting, the nature of the human condition, the politics of humanitarian intervention, or just a damn good, disturbing read about the ways of the world would do well to read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Don't miss it
Review: A previous Amazon reviewer described this book as "dispassionate." Must have been reading a different book to the one I bought. As a former foreign correspondent (for Australian television)I also spent time in Somalia, Rwanda and Sudan. I picked up this book out of curiosity but without much in the way of expectations. Having read it, I am stunned and in awe. There are many more famous and exalted names in foreign journalism than Scott Peterson's - at least until now. The sheer passion of his reporting, the level of his commitment, his fearlessness both when faced by African violence and the equally grotesque rationalisations of those who clumsily intervene (and those who fail to intervene)deserve him a place in the highest rankings. He stuck with Somalia when most of the rest of the world lost interest (I plead guilty). He took trouble to understand the Somali perspective when most others saw it as an American story. He writes illuminatingly about Sudan - perhaps the world's most overlooked war zone, rich in terrible, hopeless, wasteful loss. His writings on Rwanda add renewed freshness to the gut-churning horrors of the genocide - after Gourevitch's "We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families" apparently left little more to be said. Peterson returns the degraded craft of journalism to its purest form: he "bears witness." He risks his life to do so. He loses friends. He confesses his fear. He disdains received wisdom. He redeems the lazy journalism of the pampered hacks with one eye on the room service menu and the other on how well their "heroism" will play back home. Anyone with an interest in Africa, reporting, the nature of the human condition, the politics of humanitarian intervention, or just a damn good, disturbing read about the ways of the world would do well to read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Famine, combat, and mass graves
Review: A very brief review of Scott Peterson's macabre book would simply say "Chilling, gruesome, and violent". This book is a must read for anybody curious about the UN or US missions to Africa and the seemingly endless violence that occurs there on massive scales. As I write this, Rwanda is struggling to hold an election after the 1994 Genocide and Liberia seems to be on the brink of spiraling down into a conflict marked by massacres. Mr. Peterson's book makes you wonder how humanity could sink to the level that it has over and over again, but make no mistake, the conflicts in this book devoured women and children as quickly as male combatants. Even the definition of a combatant is blurry in a world where 10 year olds are trained as shock troops. Famine is used as a weapon as the countryside is deliberately ransacked by warlords. Disease and starvation soon join the fray. The scale of the violence becomes unreal. In Rwanda approximately 800,000 people were exterminated in few months. Mostly with machetes and clubs, not machineguns or gas chambers. It is hard to comprehend the personal face to face orgy of destruction that lead time and time again to children being grouped together and beaten to death.
This book raises questions about the usefulness of food aid to refugees as it is hijacked by combatants and refugees are forced to move around to allow "combat units" access to the food that the world ships in. It would seem that the meddling of the world isn't helping the larger geo-political situation in these countries and indeed that the only real solution will have to be an African solution as the citizens in these war torn countries decide that peace is worth more than war.
Rating: 
Summary: A TRAGIC BUT ENGAGING VIEW OF THE WORST IN HUMANITY
Review: AN EXCELLENT BOOK. NOT AS GRUESOME AS THE TITLE WOULD SUGGEST, BUT A DOWN TO EARTH, BOOTS ON THE GROUND LOOK AT ATTROCITIES IN THE THIRD WORLD FROM ONE WHO WAS THERE. THE AUTHOR REPORTS IT ALL WITH THE EYE OF A JOURNALIST AND THE HEART OF ONE WHO HAS SEEN THE BEST AND WORST IN MAN, AND DOESN'T SETTLE FOR THE LATTER.
HIS PIECE ON SOMALIA IS EXCELLENT. HE WRITES FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE INHABITANTS OF MOGADISHU AT THE TIME OF OPERATION RESTORE HOPE. IN SO DOING HE ADEPTLY DESCRIBES THE EVENTS WHICH LED UP TO THE 1992 SOMALI CHAOS AND SETS THE CONTEXT FOR WHAT WILL FOLLOW: A STORY MANY OF US KNOW TOO WELL. AFTER READING HIS BOOK, HOWEVER, I REALIZED THAT I DIDN'T KNOW THE WHOLE STORY WELL AT ALL .
THE BOOK BLACKHAWK DOWN FAITHFULLY PORTRAYS A SMALL PIECE OF THAT TRAGEDY AND DOES SO NECESSARILY OUT OF CONTEXT. (TO THE SOLDIER ON THE GROUND THE SMALL PICTURE IS ALL IMPORTANT: THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF HIS SMALL PIECE OF THE MISSION AT HAND AND HIS PERSONAL SURVIVAL OF THAT MISSION ARE ENTIRELY ABSORBING.)AFTER READING MR PETERSON'S BOOK, AND SPEAKING TO SOME FRIENDS WHO WERE THERE AT THE TIME, I WAS LEFT SHAKING MY HEAD AT THE TRAGICALLY POOR DECISIONS MADE MY ADMIRAL HOWE, AND THE SEEMING ARROGANCE WHICH LED TO THEM. AS ALWAYS, IT IS HEARTBREAKING TO SEE THE UNNECCESARY HUMAN TOLL WHICH SUCH DECISIONS COST.
MR PETERSON IS AN ARTICULATE, COGENT AND PASSIONATE WRITER. HIS ACCOUNT SOMETIMES DELVES INTO A LITTLE MORE DETAIL THAN I WOULD LIKE, BUT FOR THE MOST PART IS AN ENGAGING READ. I RECOMMEND THE BOOK TO ALL WHO DESIRE A VIEW TO THE WORLD OUTSIDE THE CULTURALLY LIMITED CONFINES OF THE USA.
Rating:
Summary: Great impact.
Review: As a foreign correspondent, Scott Peterson witnessed firsthand Somalia's descent into war, the spiritual degeneration of Sudan's Holy War, and the genocide in Rwanda. He brings these events together to record a collapse that has had an impact far beyond African borders.
Rating:
Summary: The ills of nations....
Review: British journalist Scott Peterson was an old hand at reporting in Africa by the time the 'New World Order' was tested by Somalia in the early '90s. For this reason, his shock and horror at the events he describes in this book carries weight. Covering Somalia, Sudan, and Rwanda, different approaches to solving the same problems of civil war and hunger are effectively juxtaposed - ultimately providing few concrete answers to the 'peacekeeping problem', but being highly instructive all the same. For those just home from seeing the new movie _Black Hawk Down_ (Americans especially), I think _Me Against My Brother_ should be required reading. Peterson spends half of his book on Somalia, and provides clear and concise background information on the origins of the unrest there. His analysis is evenhanded, spreading plenty of blame around: to the UN, the U.S. Armed Forces, the Somali warlords, and the Somali people themselves. I felt the book portrayed a bad situation steadily made worse by all parties involved, rightly leaving them smarting from their involvement. The next quarter of the book examines the Sudan. A timely topic in this time of heightened sensitivity to Muslim/Christian conflict, Peterson shows how damaging such conflicts can be. Again he provides good, brief background material and plenty of firsthand accounts from southern Sudan; the front lines. The section on the Sudan underscored a civil war where, unlike Somalia, humanitarian aid was distributed without accompanying military intervention. The result is a graphic illustration of how such well meaning aid organizations can be manipulated, prolonging suffering rather than quelling it. A third contrast is provided by the last section of the book - Rwanda. There, the conflict was so terrifying that not only was there no military intervention, but no humanitarian effort either. Rwanda was so atrocious, so dangerous, that Peterson (who had been-there-done-that as far as African wars are concerned) was almost too overwhelmed with fear to go there. No aid, few pictures, nearly a million dead. Essentially an inferno of violence that burned until there no no fuel of Tutsi and moderate Hutu bodies left to sustain it. I consider myself fairly educated and aware. Peterson jolted me awake. His eyewitness accounts are riveting, his analyses fairly impartial. In this book he shows a conflict where we tried to intervene with force, one where the intervention was in the form of aid, and one where no one lifted a finger. In all three cases, the results were varying degrees of the same hunger, anarchy, and death. Therefore, Peterson gives no prescription for curing the ills of Africa, but does a fine job of noting the symptoms of the illness. I highly recommend this book. I learned from it immensely, and I'm sure you will too.
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