The Brothers' War: Biafra and Nigeria

by John de St. Jorre

The Brothers' Biafra and Nigeria [hardcover] De St. Jorre, John [Aug 24, 1972] … 0395139341

Genres: Nigeria, History, Nonfiction, War, Africa

635 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

John de St. Jorre was born in London and educated in Britain and Singapore. "I spent two years in the army, much of it in Malaya during the Communist insurgency, followed by a degree at Oxford. During my last year at Oxford, I was recruited into MI6 by my medieval-history tutor. [By age 24] I had quit MI6 – I had spent most of my time working in Africa – and begun to drift doing odd jobs to survive but enjoying the freedom of the era. It was, after all, the 1960s and it seemed the right thing to do. ...after freelancing in central Africa, the Observer hired me. I was deflected by covering political crises in Africa and the Middle East, and wars, notably the Nigerian-Biafran conflict, the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, and the Iranian Islamic revolution."
Turning freelance in New York, he divided his time between journalism, book writing, lecturing, and writing and editing. He has written articles and reviews for The New York Times and its Sunday Magazine, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The New Yorker, Town and Country, The Times, The Guardian, Punch, The Literary Review, MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History, and Departures among others.

He lives with his wife and family in Newport, Rhode Island.

Reviews

[Brian Betke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is probably the definitive book on the war. It does not take sides. The author was a journalist who spent considerable time on both sides of the border. A well told story of a war most people do not know about. It is not the war that is impressive, but the peace.

[Robin Winter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here is a reasonable overview of this tragic war that doesn't get bogged down in the details even while it lets us see the contradictions inherent in the circumstances. A remarkable and compassionate work.

[Adebayo Oyagbola · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good factual account of the causes and course of the war. It is well written and tries to stay away from forming any judgments.

[Abdullahi Usman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is probably the most comprehensive and neutral account of the Biafran War. Written in lucid and captivating prose, the author covers almost every aspect of the war, from the intense fire exchanges on the war front to diplomatic tensions and political maneuvering and the devastating effects on civilians, including starving children. Unlike Frederick Forsyth's The Biafra Story, the book avoids taking a pro-Biafran stance, nor does it overly sympathize with the minorities in Biafra, as seen in Elechi Amadi's Sunset in Biafra. Similarly, it doesn't justify all the actions of Gowon and his Federal Troops, unlike Usman Faruk's The Victors and Vanquished of the Nigerian Civil War. Instead, it provides a vivid and balanced account of the war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state that declared its independence from Nigeria in 1967.

[Olanrewaju Olamide · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title of the book should have been international diplomacy in the Biafran War.

The author starts well by discussing the coup and the prelude to the war. But I was in for a shocker when it was time to discuss the war, the actual purpose of the book.

Instead of the author to discuss the war, he was instead focusing on the activities of foreigners. In the end, the author portrayed Nigerians as side characters in their own civil war.

He even had an entire chapter to mercenaries.

[Daniel Polansky]

Had to jump through various hoops to attain a copy of this unfortunately out of print history of the Biafran civil war. Strange that a conflict which was so formative in the West's view of post-colonial Africa has gone so completely down the rabbit hole. Anyway, St. Jorre was a journalist and visited the breakaway Iboan republic, but manages to combine an on the ground view of the conflict with a nuanced take on the complex factors which caused and prolonged it.

[Morolake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, one of the balanced accounts of the Nigerian civil war I have ever read.

It gives a view of the war from both perspective, highlighting the events and players that contribute to the war without ultimately taking sides.

Highly recommended.

[Chidimma]

niceeeee

[Dapo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Nigerian Civil war marks the darkest hour of modern Nigeria's turbulent history and this author tells the story as a firsthand observer of all sides to the tragedy. There was so much unhealthy propaganda that surrounded the war while it was being fought, a lot of which unfortunately reverberates and maintains the specter of division that is still present in Nigeria today. The books peels back the propaganda and traces the origins, prosecution and surprisingly humane conclusion of Black Africa's first modern war. An excellent reference if you are looking for the most unbiased narration of the events.

5 stars.

[Abdul Akin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, enthralling and captivating book, to read about Nigeria's never talked about or acknowledged civil war.