What do you think?
Rate this book
Blue Dahlia, Black Gold: A Journey Into Angola
‘A rich and fascinating book about an overlooked African powerhouse by a travel writer of rare talent.’ TIM BUTCHER, author of Blood River and Chasing the Devil
Since the end of its crippling 27-year civil war over a decade ago, Angola has changed almost beyond recognition. An oil-fuelled bonanza has brought about massive foreign investment and a fabulously wealthy new elite, making its capital, Luanda, the second most expensive city in the world. Today, fortunes are being made and lost overnight, and rich Angolans are eagerly buying up the assets of its former coloniser, Portugal.
Fascinated by this complex nation perched at the forefront of a resurgent Africa, writer Daniel Metcalfe travelled to Angola to explore the country for himself. Ebullient and proud, and often unwilling to dwell on its past, Angola has a large army, a hunger for wealth and a need to prove itself on the continent. But as Metcalfe also discovers, it has some of the most grinding poverty in Africa as few Angolans have reaped the rewards of the peace.
Nonetheless, amid Angola's brash reality, Metcalfe finds there is a place for a traveller who isn't there to make a quick buck. Crossing the country as ordinary Angolans do, talking to tribal elders, oil workers, mine clearers and street children, he encounters a place of extremes, where cynicism and excess go hand-in-hand with great hospitality and ingenuity. Metcalfe also reveals a colourful history of pirates and slave traders, capuchin monks, syncretic Christian cults and elaborate spirit masks.
This is an Angola that symbolises nothing less than a broader turning point between the continents, the repositioning of the rich developed world versus Africa. It is a land that, until now, few outsiders have managed to unlock.
Since the end of its crippling 27-year civil war over a decade ago, Angola has changed almost beyond recognition. An oil-fuelled bonanza has brought about massive foreign investment and a fabulously wealthy new elite, making its capital, Luanda, the second most expensive city in the world. Today, fortunes are being made and lost overnight, and rich Angolans are eagerly buying up the assets of its former coloniser, Portugal.
Fascinated by this complex nation perched at the forefront of a resurgent Africa, writer Daniel Metcalfe travelled to Angola to explore the country for himself. Ebullient and proud, and often unwilling to dwell on its past, Angola has a large army, a hunger for wealth and a need to prove itself on the continent. But as Metcalfe also discovers, it has some of the most grinding poverty in Africa as few Angolans have reaped the rewards of the peace.
Nonetheless, amid Angola's brash reality, Metcalfe finds there is a place for a traveller who isn't there to make a quick buck. Crossing the country as ordinary Angolans do, talking to tribal elders, oil workers, mine clearers and street children, he encounters a place of extremes, where cynicism and excess go hand-in-hand with great hospitality and ingenuity. Metcalfe also reveals a colourful history of pirates and slave traders, capuchin monks, syncretic Christian cults and elaborate spirit masks.
This is an Angola that symbolises nothing less than a broader turning point between the continents, the repositioning of the rich developed world versus Africa. It is a land that, until now, few outsiders have managed to unlock.
368 pages, Paperback
First published July 4, 2013
10 people are currently reading
194 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 17, 2016
A book jacket filled with accolades that aren't well deserved. Not to say that this isn't an informative read; it is, very much so. It also has a mostly light, newsy feel to it that is essential as an awful lot is thrown at you.
In the end, however, this is more a research summary of Angola than it is an insightful look at Angola today. Hmmm. That's not exactly fair or even correct. Metcalf sums up modern day Angola well - centralized power, a rogue oil industry, an enormous gap between the haves and the have nots - and no easy or apparent way out.
But the meat of the book is found in the summaries of research he conducted on the history - near and longer term - of Angola than in any insightful look at the people or customs of those living in Angola today. To be sure, he meets people with opinions and experiences but, to me, they seemed like window dressing - and 80% of them were expatriates, interesting expatriates but foreigners looking in, nonetheless.
One may say, that it is JUST a journey into Angola, so what can you expect. True. But that still leaves one wanting to better understand what Angolan's think, how they cope, what future they see...and the book was weak here. And weak enough to be palpable. There are better books that describe travel and better books that dig deeper. I think of the book I just finished, A Town on the River, about a two year stay in Fuling, China. The book is so rich in insight into the state of the writer AND the feeling and understanding of place. Better thinker. Better writer.
Still, want to learn a lot about where Angola has come from? Metcalfe has done his homework. You'll learn a lot and you won't not enjoy the read.
In the end, however, this is more a research summary of Angola than it is an insightful look at Angola today. Hmmm. That's not exactly fair or even correct. Metcalf sums up modern day Angola well - centralized power, a rogue oil industry, an enormous gap between the haves and the have nots - and no easy or apparent way out.
But the meat of the book is found in the summaries of research he conducted on the history - near and longer term - of Angola than in any insightful look at the people or customs of those living in Angola today. To be sure, he meets people with opinions and experiences but, to me, they seemed like window dressing - and 80% of them were expatriates, interesting expatriates but foreigners looking in, nonetheless.
One may say, that it is JUST a journey into Angola, so what can you expect. True. But that still leaves one wanting to better understand what Angolan's think, how they cope, what future they see...and the book was weak here. And weak enough to be palpable. There are better books that describe travel and better books that dig deeper. I think of the book I just finished, A Town on the River, about a two year stay in Fuling, China. The book is so rich in insight into the state of the writer AND the feeling and understanding of place. Better thinker. Better writer.
Still, want to learn a lot about where Angola has come from? Metcalfe has done his homework. You'll learn a lot and you won't not enjoy the read.
May 24, 2020
Part history, part travelogue, this 2013 book follows Daniel Metcalfe around Angola in budget traveller fashion from Luanda to Huambo to Cabinda. It occasionally falls into travel writer cliches of tales of appalling lodgings and bus trips but overall this is a well informed and sympathetic account of one of the most unequal countries in Africa. There’s a bonus chapter on São Tomé and Principe as well.
July 4, 2017
Useful little travel book for bringing Angola to life. Made me appreciate things that a standard economics text would not, in particular the human development indicators. Way more readable than the latest Art iv even if it does not touch on the insolvency of some banks. Nice mix of history and contemporary Angola too.
August 29, 2018
As my first introduction to the culture and history of Angola, I thought this was a very nice book. Sometimes it was a bit difficult to follow, because the themes are not chronological.
June 10, 2025
O trabalho de Daniel Metcalfe confronta-nos a nós Portugueses. Não só pelo passado colonial, mas também pelo processo de transição em 1974 e 1975, e pela nossa atitude no período posterior ao fim da Guerra Civil.
Claro que a culpa já não é do colonizador, 50 anos depois as estruturas do jovem país e as suas elites tem grandes culpas de melhor administrarem e distribuirem a riqueza existente.
Por fim embora de 2014 e sendo o Presidente outro, o livro continua a ser uma primeira fotografia da realidade. È claro quer não é um ensaio, passa muito por impressões do autor, merecia ter mais trabalho de investigação, mas está aí e fica o repto para outros o seguirem e fazerem melhor.
Claro que a culpa já não é do colonizador, 50 anos depois as estruturas do jovem país e as suas elites tem grandes culpas de melhor administrarem e distribuirem a riqueza existente.
Por fim embora de 2014 e sendo o Presidente outro, o livro continua a ser uma primeira fotografia da realidade. È claro quer não é um ensaio, passa muito por impressões do autor, merecia ter mais trabalho de investigação, mas está aí e fica o repto para outros o seguirem e fazerem melhor.
September 30, 2025
Angola:
A well-researched and well written book, mainly travelogue and political history book. I came more for a story rather than a political chronology, but the interjecting of political discourse of Angola really helped set the scene as to the distance between the rich elites and oil barons and the people of Angola who fight for even the smallest trickle down of the oil wealth that no one ever receives.
As a politics and history graduate, I was really interested in this book, and it certainly hit the mark as a beginners guide to Angola and a comprehensive cover of early and modern Angolan history.
A well-researched and well written book, mainly travelogue and political history book. I came more for a story rather than a political chronology, but the interjecting of political discourse of Angola really helped set the scene as to the distance between the rich elites and oil barons and the people of Angola who fight for even the smallest trickle down of the oil wealth that no one ever receives.
As a politics and history graduate, I was really interested in this book, and it certainly hit the mark as a beginners guide to Angola and a comprehensive cover of early and modern Angolan history.
December 26, 2025
Honestly, other than the language (reason for 3 stars instead of 5), I would highly recommend this book. I currently live in Africa, and the author gives a clear picture of the corruption, hospitality, beauty, death, garbage, and pain that ravages countries on the continent. If anyone is looking at living in Africa or giving to a project based in Africa, I would give them this book in a heartbeat. I felt very validated in my own observations and gained new perspective on issues. The author is very talented as a writer. I could hardly put the book down.
May 3, 2020
Uma viagem por uma Angola real, com início em São Tomé e Príncipe. Um retrato do país, repleto de História, para compreender o país na atualidade. Um retrato factual de uma viagem low cost, escrito por um autor inglês, que mostra como o passado moldou a atualidade.
June 13, 2022
Uma viagem pela Angola do início do século XXI através dos olhos de um inglês disposto a conhecer a verdadeira situação da sociedade angolana. Vale a pena ler para perceber que Angola continua a ser um país adiado, apesar das condições que tem para ser um dos líderes de África.
June 23, 2024
This book is not written by an Angolan author but a British journalist who embarks on a journey in Angola (and also São Tomé and Príncipe). It is a fascinating book and written in an entertaining and informative way, even if in a slightly obnoxious (and sometimes ungrateful) way by a privileged outsider.
I learn more about Angolan history from this book than any of the documentaries I have watched. Daniel has really done his homework and travels the country from one corner to another like ordinary Angolans do, many times hosted by generous locals. I find myself taking notes about people and places – whether the activists he mentions are still alive, what are the distances that he covers, where are the towns he talks about, what are the oil companies he mentions, who are the different leaders of ethnic and political groups, etc. He does an exceptional job describing the backstories of Angolan landmarks and people, but also of prominent contemporary figures. I learn more about Jonas Savimbi (leader of UNITA), Holden Roberto (leader of the FNLA and brother-in-law of Mobuto Sese Seko, a Congolese dictator) and Agistinho Neto (leader of the MPLA and the first president of Angola), He also writes about Elias Isaac, the country director for the Open Society of Initiative of South Africa and the work of the Halo Trust that works in clearing landmines around the country.
Metcalfe travels around the country with a journalist’s gut and drive. Conversations are detailed and he has a great eye for details and descriptions. He covers the Angolan history in detail, drills deep into the slave trade, visits the most landmined battlefields, talks to everyone and writes down the human stories. He travels through Luanda and several other cities and regions including landmine-infested Cuito Cuanavale and oil-rich Cabinda. He looks into the culture and history of different ethnic groups. I wish I could read a book like this for every country.
I read this book as part of our project Virtual Nomad that explores and celebrates food, writing, cinema and music from different countries. www.myvirtualnomad.com
I learn more about Angolan history from this book than any of the documentaries I have watched. Daniel has really done his homework and travels the country from one corner to another like ordinary Angolans do, many times hosted by generous locals. I find myself taking notes about people and places – whether the activists he mentions are still alive, what are the distances that he covers, where are the towns he talks about, what are the oil companies he mentions, who are the different leaders of ethnic and political groups, etc. He does an exceptional job describing the backstories of Angolan landmarks and people, but also of prominent contemporary figures. I learn more about Jonas Savimbi (leader of UNITA), Holden Roberto (leader of the FNLA and brother-in-law of Mobuto Sese Seko, a Congolese dictator) and Agistinho Neto (leader of the MPLA and the first president of Angola), He also writes about Elias Isaac, the country director for the Open Society of Initiative of South Africa and the work of the Halo Trust that works in clearing landmines around the country.
Metcalfe travels around the country with a journalist’s gut and drive. Conversations are detailed and he has a great eye for details and descriptions. He covers the Angolan history in detail, drills deep into the slave trade, visits the most landmined battlefields, talks to everyone and writes down the human stories. He travels through Luanda and several other cities and regions including landmine-infested Cuito Cuanavale and oil-rich Cabinda. He looks into the culture and history of different ethnic groups. I wish I could read a book like this for every country.
I read this book as part of our project Virtual Nomad that explores and celebrates food, writing, cinema and music from different countries. www.myvirtualnomad.com
February 14, 2017
Relato de viagem do jornalista inglês Daniel Metcalfe por Angola, enriquecido pela história longínqua e recente de um país desde sempre fustigado pelo lado negro da condição humana. A organização tribal ancestral, a chegada dos portuguses, o tráfico de escravos que alimentou o desenvolvimento das Américas, os movimentos de luta pela independência e a longa guerra civil são-nos passados ao longo do percurso, justificando a miséria e dificuldades atuais e o difícil percurso por trilhar.
Complementa muito bem o livro de Paul Theroux publicado no ano passado O Último Comboio para a Zona Verde, também ele um diário de bordo que começa na África do Sul e termina em Luanda.
Complementa muito bem o livro de Paul Theroux publicado no ano passado O Último Comboio para a Zona Verde, também ele um diário de bordo que começa na África do Sul e termina em Luanda.
June 30, 2014
One of the the most expensive cities in the world is Luanda the capital of Angola. Blue Dahlia, Black Gold is Part history part travelogue. The book tells the reader all about Angola, a country who has been in and out of the news since 1975, which is when the start of their nearly 30 civil war began, through their blood diamonds which were used to support the war, and the massive quantities of oil and LNG. Angola a country with vast wealth, and enormous poverty. This was a very interesting book.
December 14, 2015
Sobre a Angola Actual, uma escrita realista, um olhar crítico e sincero, sobre os trabalhadores dedicados, humildes e com sede de aprender, fala sobre aqueles que não querem saber de nada e que acham que os 'estrangeiros' é que devem fazer tudo.
Fala também sobre a falta de respeito, as fraudes, a corrupção, a ilusão de que a cor branca é sinal de dinheiro, as intoxicações alimentares, os mosquitos, o trânsito, mais uma vez a falta de respeito pelas regras e o que se sente diariamente,a ingratidão quando se ajuda. Está tudo neste livro, que depois de começar não se consegue deixar de lado.
Fala também sobre a falta de respeito, as fraudes, a corrupção, a ilusão de que a cor branca é sinal de dinheiro, as intoxicações alimentares, os mosquitos, o trânsito, mais uma vez a falta de respeito pelas regras e o que se sente diariamente,a ingratidão quando se ajuda. Está tudo neste livro, que depois de começar não se consegue deixar de lado.
April 14, 2016
My second Metcalfe travelogue and even if not quite as good as the first one, still a great read. Metcalfe visits Sao Tome and Principe, followed by Angola, taking stock of the Portuguese as colonizers and how these countries, particularly Angola, have dealt with decades of civil war and now unimaginable oil wealth. These are obscure countries, at least in the US, and it was interesting to get a detailed look into both of them.
February 7, 2015
Intriguing. A country of war and magic, confusao and sadly ravaged by one of the most bizarre wars ever as summarized in the chapter about Cabinda.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews