Michael Wolfers (1938–2014)

For those trying to understand specific African conflicts of the past 50 years, the acronyms for so many competing groups interfere. Wolfers and Bergerol, correspondents from distinguished London newspapers explain the competing activities of MPLA, UNITA and the FNLA in the Angolan struggle to build a country after independence from Portugal in November 1975. South Africans invaded that year and Cubans helped the MPLA resist, while Kissinger and the Americans insisted they were acting as Russian tools in the Cold War.

The war would continue until 2002 as this new country tried to orgainize a government, services. A socialist web site has recently made the following statement regarding US citizen's general information on the Angola situation for these quarter century wars.

This is an excellent book, explaining developments between 1994 and 1982. The book is but an introduction, as while the MPLA prevailed in 1982, when the book went to press, South Africa was still attacking. The authors's ended with these words : "South Africa's seven Year war against Angola is continuing with the tacit approval of all major Western powers who continue to call for withdrawal of Cuba's internationalists from Angola rather than demand the unconditional retreat of the racist South African Defence Force from Angolan soil".

This is an excellent introduction to modern history of Angola. There is a concise list of acronyms, three good maps, and a 2 page bibliography.

"For the New York Times the Angolan war was 1a three way tribally based struggle”, in which the contenders “became enmeshed in global politics as the rival superpowers and their proxies rushed to sponsor their chosen factions.'"

The Wikipedia entry for its first president Neto shows the comparision of US and Cuban relations with Angola in the early 1960

"In 1962 Neto visited Washington D.C., United States and asked the Kennedy administration for aid in his war with Portugal. The U.S. government turned him down, choosing to instead support Holden Roberto's anti-Communist FNLA.

Neto met Che Guevara in 1965 and began receiving support from Cuba.He visited Havana many times, and he and Fidel Castro shared similar ideological views. "… (mehr)