The Devil Came on Horseback: Bearing Witness to the Genocide in Darfur [BARGAIN PRICE] (Hardcover)

by Brian Steidle (Author), Gretchen Steidle Wallace (Author)
Key Phrases: sector commander, monitoring team, been torched, Nuba Mountains, Major Joseph, African Union (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Though Cummings seems younger and more naïve than the narrator of this appalling history, he does convey the growing disbelief and revulsion that former Marine Captain Steidle feels during his six months as an African Union observer of the Darfur genocide. In ever-rising tones, Cummings conveys Steidle's developing incredulity, frustration, horror and impotence as he witnesses and actually photographs the janjaweed arrive on horseback to systematically rape, torture, murder and mass slaughter 200,000 men, women and children, then loot and torch one village after another. Every day the unarmed AU observers interview the victims and the perpetrators, but their mandate is to observe and report on each infringement of the so-called cease-fire; they can in no way interfere—no matter how horrific the crime. What is hardest for Steidle (and listeners) to stomach is the utter complacency of the U.N., the U.S. and the world's other powers mutely observing what can only be called genocide. (On April 16, 2007, Sudan finally approved the deployment of attack helicopters and 3,000 U.N. peacekeepers.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

From Booklist
Former U.S. Marine Steidle was part of an unarmed team sent to Darfur, Sudan, by the African Union to monitor compliance with a cease-fire agreement between rebel groups. Armed with a camera and notebook, Steidle chronicled his six-month mission, witnessing the harrowing aftermath of violence and the ongoing genocide. He found himself in the line of fire, was taken hostage, and ultimately morphed into a correspondent as he unburdened himself via e-mails sent home. He recounts the ineffectiveness he felt in his role as observer and his frustration that the international community has done so little to intervene in the massive killing of non-Arab citizens. More than a firsthand account of the horrors of genocide, this is a stirring account of one man's transformation in the face of the inhumanity of senseless death, and the occasional moments of humanity in the midst of violence. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 230 pages
• Publisher: PublicAffairs; 1 edition (March 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1586484745
• ASIN: B00119XY7U
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,084,037 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Compelling First-Hand Descriptions of the Darfur Crisis, May 10, 2007

By	John Uniack Davis (West Africa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Devil Came on Horseback: Bearing Witness to the Genocide in Darfur (Hardcover)

Former U.S. Marine Brian Steidle signed on to go to Darfur on an African Union ceasefire monitoring mission, but standing idly by while "African" civilians were massacred, mutilated, and raped by predominantly "Arab" tormenters in the service of the Sudanese Government was not what he had bargained for. In his eyes, he gained a small measure of redemption by meticulously documenting everything he saw, heard, and experienced, and then trying to stir the world's conscience, though this was certainly not his initial intention.

This book's greatest strength comes from the vivid and detailed descriptions of the author's often-harrowing experiences. The Devil Came on Horseback pulls no punches in describing the slow-motion tsunami that the Khartoum regime is inflicting upon its people. Steidle provides great descriptions of events and sequences of events, and these are supported by a very good map of Darfur, which enables the reader to follow the evolution of events on the ground.

What is often lacking in the book is a detailed analysis of the complicated social, cultural, and political context of the Darfur conflict and genocide, though in Part Three ("Genocide") he provides more of this kind of information than he does earlier in the book. His outrage and passion are palpable, but analysis is often lacking. A novel aspect of this volume is that the author is a military observer, but he unfortunately does not look very deeply at the political constraints or other factors that hinder the effectiveness of African Union forces. Steidle's military background would have given him an interesting vantage point from which to examine the pros and cons of peacekeeping forces led by the African Union as opposed to the United Nations, for example, but he never goes into much detail on these important issues.

Nevertheless, Steidle's first-hand witnessing of actual events in the Darfur tragedy is a valuable addition to the existing emerging literature on Darfur. This book is a great companion volume to works that focus on the social, political, and historical context of the Darfur humanitarian crisis, such as Gerard Prunier's The Ambiguous Genocide or Julie Flint and Alex de Waal's A Short History of a Long War.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended, June 5, 2007

By	Lisa Twede - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Devil Came on Horseback: Bearing Witness to the Genocide in Darfur (Hardcover)

I just got The Devil Came on Horseback, Bearing witness to the genocide in Darfur by Brian Steidle and Gretchen Steidle Wallace.

OH MY GAWD!!!

I read an article in the Calendar section about a documentary that was playing in Laemmle theaters either based on this book, or based on the same experiences that the book is based on. I followed a link or two on the internet and found this book. Basically, the author was assigned to Darfur to monitor a cease fire, and to document any violations (which were apparently rampant). I'm only 19 pages into the book so far, and

OH MY GAWD!!!

Well it's eye-opening. I've been listening to the news about Darfur, and was curious to know about what is behind the conflict (or who more particularly), and why is it persisting. I thought a first-hand account of someone who was actually there would be the best way to find out.

I have to give you a little snippet here that evoked the most emotion from me so far:

As far as I could tell, for women life was extremely difficult. Sudan was primarily a patriarchal society, yet the women were the laborers. They might walk five or six hours with huge bundles of firewood or five-gallon buckets on their heads to collect their daily water. Girls could be sold by their fathers into marriage for as little as two cows--roughly $400--and human trafficking was not uncommon. Women were stoned to death in some places if they cheated on their husbands, but men were legally allowed to take up to four wives. In almost all circumstances, men would not even stand next to a woman. The men would sit, and the women would stand behind them. I had heard that approsimately 90 percent of Sudanese women still undergo female genital mutilation, and I learned that there are two methods. The first removes only the clitoris, but the second procedure involves sewing the vagina closed, often using thorns.

I have certainly heard about the first form of mutilation, but not the second. I just think it is something no human should have to experience. And then a little later on the next page there is this little tidbit, "... there was a broadly believed myth that having sex with a virgin would cure you of AIDS." My goodness. No wonder AIDS is such an epidemic! Confronted with the same risks, I might want to sew up my vagina too. But I suppose it doesn't really stop the rapes.

I remember in school learning about things like the Holocaust and thinking, "Those were the olden days. The world is civilized now." Naive doesn't even begin to cover it.

No, I think atrocities like these will never really end unless and until we can confront the evils within ourselves. What can lead a human to do to another human such inhumane things?

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read to understand Darfur, May 3, 2007

By	M. H. Bixby "Lives in the Balance" (DC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Devil Came on Horseback: Bearing Witness to the Genocide in Darfur (Hardcover)

The Devil Came on Horseback: Bearing Witness to the Genocide in Darfur by Brian Steidle and Gretchen Steidle Wallace is the story of Captain Steidle's year as an observer with the African Union Mission in Darfur. The book is an earnest account of attacks Steidle witnessed and investigated, and the photographs section is particularly powerful. It's a must-read to understand what life on the ground for Darfuri civilians was like during some of the worst of the genocide in 2004. There are some very disturbing descriptions of attacks but there are also heartwarming moments of international (and local) understanding that will someday help end the crisis.