Father's Day Special
Nightfall in Mogadishu
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Paperback available at Amazon and http://www.authorhouse.com/Bookstore/...
NIGHTFALL IN MOGADISHU is a historical novel and spy thriller set in Somalia. I was an aid worker in Somalia in the late eighties, just before the government collapsed and Somalia became a failed state.
During my work there, I found the Somalis to be a warm and hospitable people. Most of the population was still nomadic, roaming the Horn of Africa with their camels as they had for thousands of years. Their society was organized into clans, and people looked to their clan for everything from personal and financial security to marriage. The women were beautiful and strong, dispelling my impression that Islamic women were oppressed. Mogadishu, the capital, was a quaint but charming city, with its blend of Italian and Arab cultures and fantastic view of the Indian Ocean.
However, the president, Siad Barre, was a brutal dictator who persecuted any clan that opposed him. He was finally ousted after twenty-two years in power. Inexperienced in nation building, the clans were unable to form a new government, and thus began the country’s descent into chaos.
I wanted answers to this tragedy. I went to the library and checked out every book there was on Somalia. But to me, reading wasn’t enough. I had to write about it. A person can do as much reading on a subject as he wants, but if he doesn’t go through the process of writing about it, which forces him to synthesize all the pieces, he can never come up with his own vision. So I spun all the pieces together into a spy thriller full of international intrigue (with a bit of sex thrown in). At the end of it, I was able to gain a deeper understanding of what had happened in Somalia. Unfortunately, the same story is unfolding in neighboring countries such as Libya and Yemen.
Kindle edition now selling at $0.99.
Paperback available at Amazon and http://www.authorhouse.com/Bookstore/...
NIGHTFALL IN MOGADISHU is a historical novel and spy thriller set in Somalia. I was an aid worker in Somalia in the late eighties, just before the government collapsed and Somalia became a failed state.
During my work there, I found the Somalis to be a warm and hospitable people. Most of the population was still nomadic, roaming the Horn of Africa with their camels as they had for thousands of years. Their society was organized into clans, and people looked to their clan for everything from personal and financial security to marriage. The women were beautiful and strong, dispelling my impression that Islamic women were oppressed. Mogadishu, the capital, was a quaint but charming city, with its blend of Italian and Arab cultures and fantastic view of the Indian Ocean.
However, the president, Siad Barre, was a brutal dictator who persecuted any clan that opposed him. He was finally ousted after twenty-two years in power. Inexperienced in nation building, the clans were unable to form a new government, and thus began the country’s descent into chaos.
I wanted answers to this tragedy. I went to the library and checked out every book there was on Somalia. But to me, reading wasn’t enough. I had to write about it. A person can do as much reading on a subject as he wants, but if he doesn’t go through the process of writing about it, which forces him to synthesize all the pieces, he can never come up with his own vision. So I spun all the pieces together into a spy thriller full of international intrigue (with a bit of sex thrown in). At the end of it, I was able to gain a deeper understanding of what had happened in Somalia. Unfortunately, the same story is unfolding in neighboring countries such as Libya and Yemen.
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