The Biafra Story: The Making of an African Legend [Paperback]

Frederick Forsyth (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2007

The Nigerian civil war of the late 1960s was one of the first occasions when Western consciences were awakened and deeply affronted by the level of the suffering and the scale of the atrocity being played out in the African Continent.

This book which marked Frederick Forsyth's transition from journalist to author is a record of one of the most brutal conflicts the Third World has ever suffered, it has become a classic of modern war reporting. But it is more than that. It voices one man's outrage not only at the extremes of human violence, but also at the duplicity and self-interest of the Western Governments - most notably, the British, who tacitly accepted or actively aided that violence.

The combination of the dramatic events and the shocking exposures combined with the author's forthright and perceptive style makes The Biafra Story as compelling a read today as when it was first written.

Product Details

• Paperback: 291 pages
• Publisher: Pen and Sword (May 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1844155234
• ISBN-13: 978-1844155231
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #723,930 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #55 in Books > History > Africa > Nigeria

More About the Author

Frederick Forsyth is the author of fifteen novels and short-story collections. He lives in England.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unjustly forgotten classic of the Biafran War, May 1, 2002

By 

Virgil "Virgil" (Chapel Hill, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: BIAFRA STORY: The Making of an African Legend (Hardcover)

Forsyth is known for his later works the "Day of the Jackal", "Odessa File" and "Dogs of War". This though is his first book and in many ways superior to the rest.

A non-fiction detailed description of the Biafran war, Forsyth pulls no punches describing the valiant but fruitless fight by the Ibo tribe to secede from Nigeria. Outnumbered, outgunned and out financed by the central government, the Ibo finally fell because of the support of the European powers for Nigeria.

Forsyth does a wonderful job in giving us a journalist eye view of the conflict which eventually became known more for the starvation of hundreds of thousands of Ibo. A long forgotten classic that has never been outdone by his later novels.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A touching book, May 31, 2005

By 

Kemayou (Cameroon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: BIAFRA STORY: The Making of an African Legend (Hardcover)

I have read most of Forsyth's books and this is the first book where he treated a major conflict, especially one that is not of the western world. Overall it was very insightful and life DISCIPLES OF FORTUNE, KING LEOPOLD'S GHOST, SHAKE HANDS WITH THE DEVIL, it gives the reader the opportunity to understand African conflicts and the pattern of genocides that have taken place or taking place in the continent.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best chronicle of the suffering of the igbo people, February 27, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: BIAFRA STORY: The Making of an African Legend (Hardcover)

Mr. Forsyth in this book became the voice of millions of suffering Biafrans whose sin was a determination to exist against all odds.

His analysis captured the brutality of the Nigerian soldiers while the rest of the world fell victim to the deceit of the pronouncements of the Commander of the Nigerian Armed Forces...General Yakubu Gowon.