Around the World in 80 Books discussion

Post any books set in Somalia here.

Books set in Somalia:


Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Desert Dawn by Waris Dirie
Links by Nuruddin Farah
Desert Flower: The Extraordinary Journey Of A Desert Nomad by Waris Dirie
Secrets by Nuruddin Farah
Black Mamba Boy by Nadifa Mohamed
Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden
Aman: The Story of a Somali Girl by Virginia Lee Barnes
Born in the Big Rains: A Memoir of Somalia and Survival by Fadumo Korn
Gifts by Nuruddin Farah
From Somalia with Love by Na'ima B. Robert
Sardines by Nuruddin Farah
Sharkman Six by Owen West
Maps by Nuruddin Farah
Desert Children by Waris Dirie
From a Crooked Rib by Nuruddin Farah
Where Soldiers Fear to Tread: A Relief Worker's Tale of Survival by John S. Burnett

More books set in Somalia:


The Last Camel: True Stories about Somalia by Jeanne D'Haem
The Road to Hell: The Ravaging Effects of Foreign Aid and International Charity
The Pirates of Somalia: Inside Their Hidden World by Jay Bahadur
Pirate State: Inside Somalia's Terrorism at Sea by Peter Eichstaedt
Optimism in the Face of Death: A Somalian Success Story by Ahmed Egag
When A Hyena Laughs: A Somalian Novel by Abdi Abdulkadir Sheik-Abdi
In The Company Of Heroes by Michael J. Durant
Dead Centre by Andy McNab
The Farther Shore by Matthew Eck

Deployed by Mel Odom

The Orchard of Lost Souls by Nadifa Mohamed

A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout

Keeping Hope Alive: One Woman: 90,000 Lives Changed by Hawa Abdi

Impossible Odds by Jessica Buchanan, Erik Landemalm and Anthony Flacco

This true story is a nail-biter. Jessica, an aid worker in Somalia, is kidnapped and held for ransom in primitive, insanitary conditions for over 3 months by a gang of khat-chewing, gun-toting, zonked out, irrational men and boys with a penchant for violence and rape. Luckily, at least for Jessica, a fellow aid worker - a Danish man called Poul, is kidnapped with her so at least she has someone to remind her of the saner world she has been dragged away from. Throughout the book Jessica presents herself as victim rather than heroine, and quietly laughs at herself for being so naïve about the lives of the people she has come to help. The story is told from three different points of view: Jessica's, her husband Erik's, and Flacco the book's 'professional' author. Flacco's role functions to round out the scenario by telling us the US government's position on the kidnapping and the history of the heroes of the story, Seal Team Six. This structure also works well to bring out the contrasting personal and bureaucratic viewpoints of the different players in this nasty event.

This book offers a glimpse of the real dangers that thousands of selfless aid workers face every day in order to improve the lives of others. It's a cautionary tale.

Nightfall in Mogadishu by Veronica Li

A Man of Good Hope by Jonny Steinberg

The Mayor of Mogadishu: A Story of Chaos and Redemption in the Ruins of Somalia by Andrew Harding

More books set in Somalia:


All The Young Warriors by Anthony Neil Smith
An Anthology of Somali Poetry by Bogumil W. Andrzejewski
Assault At Mogadishu by Kai Hermann
At Noonday with the Gods of Somalia by Afdhere Jama
Bloodline by James Rollins (8th book in Sigma Force series)
The Boy Who Learned to Read by Mohamud Ege
Close Sesame by Nuruddin Farah
Crossbones by Nuruddin Farah
A Cure for Serpents by Alberto Denti Di Pirajno
Don't Tell Me You're Afraid by Giuseppe Catozzella
First Footsteps in East Africa; Or, an Exploration of Harar
Her Blue Body by Warsan Shire
Hiding in Plain Sight by Nuruddin Farah

More books set in Somalia:


Ignorance Is the Enemy of Love by Faarax M.J. Cawl
The Kaleidoscopic Lover by Badal W. Kariye
Knots by Nuruddin Farah
Leopard among the women: Shabeelnaagood. A Somali play
Light Up the Night by M.L. Buchman (8th book in The Night Stalkers series)
Little Warrior by Giuseppe Catozzella
Love, Africa: Two Roads Home by Jeffrey Gettleman
Me Against My Brother: At War in Somalia, Sudan and Rwanda by Scott Peterson
The Miracle Journey by Abdirizak Omar
Mogadishu Memoir by Hassan Abukar
Mogadishu of the Dead by Glynn James (2nd book of the Arisen series)
A Naked Needle by Nuruddin Farah
Nomad: From Islam to America: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations
The Ogress and the Snake and Other Stories from Somalia by Elizabeth Laird
One Hit by Jack Coughlin (8th in Gunnery Sergeant Kyle Swanson series)
Only Half of Me by Rageh Omaar
Our Men Do Not Belong To Us by Warsan Shire
Out of Mogadishu: A Memoir of the Civil War in 1991 by Yusuf Haid
Pirates of the 21st Century: How Modern-Day Buccaneers are Terrorising the World's Oceans
The Prophet's Camel Bell: A Memoir of Somaliland by Margaret Laurence

More books set in Somalia:


Scapegoat by Peter Worthington
Shining: The Story of a Lucky Man by Abdi Aden
Somali Children's Stories: Collection of Somali Stories by Farah Mohamed
The Somali Doctrine by James Grenton
Somali Story Book by Paul Beard
Somalia by Leeanne Gelletly
Submergence by J.M. Ledgard
Summer in the City by Nadifa Mohamed
Sweet and Sour Milk by Nuruddin Farah
The Toughest Peace Corps Job: Letters from Somalia, 1969
A Tree for Poverty by Margaret Laurence
Wanted Women: Faith, Lies, and the War on Terror by Deborah Scroggins
The Watchman by Adrian Magson (1st book in Marc Portman series)
The Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth
Where I Belong by Gillian Cross
Yesterday, Tomorrow: Voices from the Somali Diaspora by Nuruddin Farah

More books set in Somalia:


Adua by Igiaba Scego
After the Monsoon by Robert Karjel
Becoming Ordinary: My Year in the Refugee Camps of Somalia
The Caged Virgin: An Emancipation Proclamation for Women and Islam by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Call Me American: A Memoir by Abdi Nor Iftin
The Closest Thing to Animals by Sofia Samatar
Culture and Customs of Somalia by Mohamed Diriye Abdullahi
Cut: One Woman's Fight Against FGM in Britain Today by Hibo Wardere
The Desert and the Sea: 977 Days Captive on the Somali Pirate Coast
Fairytales for Lost Children by Diriye Osman
Getting Somalia Wrong?: Faith, War and Hope in a Shattered State
The Girl with Three Legs: A Memoir by Soraya Mire
Guban by Abdi Latif Ega
Hostage Three by Nick Lake
It Takes a School: The Extraordinary Story of an American School in the World's #1 Failed State
The Liminal War by Ayize Jama-Everett
The Mayor of Mogadishu: A Story of Chaos and Redemption in the Ruins of Somalia
Milk and Peace, Drought and War: Somali Culture, Society, and Politics
NIMO: A Memoir by Naeema Sky J.D.
One Day Closer: A Mother's Quest to Bring Her Kidnapped Daughter Home
Peace Clan: Mennonite Peacemaking in Somalia by Peter M. Sensenig
Pirate Alley by Stephen Coonts
The Sea-Migrations: Tahriib by Asha Lul Mohamud Yusuf
Somali Oral Poetry and the Failed She-Camel Nation State by Ahad
Somalia Diary by William F. Sims
Tale of a Boon's Wife by Fartumo Kusow
The Tears of Dark Water by Corban Addison
We Once Belonged to the Sea by Diriye Osman
When the Lights Go Out: Memoir of a Missionary to Somalia by Ruth Myors
The World's Most Dangerous Place: Inside the Outlaw State of Somalia
The Yibir of Las Burgabo by Mahmood Gaildon

A Long Walk Home by Judith Tebbutt

Salutation Road