A very thorough review of the recent history of Sudan and newly independent South Sudan, told by the BBC correspondent James Copnall who was based in Khartoum from 2009 to 2012. He does an excellent job of illustrating the conflict between (and within) the two countries through his extensive interviews with Sudanese and South Sudanese, from government ministers to teachers and doctors to street vendors selling tea on the streets of Khartoum. His grasp of Sudanese history is strong, and he gets behind the shallow stereotypes that too often characterize Western reporting on the region. I learned a huge amount from reading the book, and enjoyed doing it. My only gripe is that the structure of the book, organized in thematic chapters with the same topic covered first in Sudan and then in South Sudan, becomes a bit repetitive and metronomic, slightly impeding the flow of the narrative. Overall, though, a really good book and well worth your time if you're at all interested in either Sudan or South Sudan. ( )