Reviews (2)

Excellent on Eritrea as well as Ethiopia
"Smallchief" mentioned that he had used this book in only in Ethiopia; I can attest that the Eritrea section is excellent as well. The walking tours of Asmara are a particularly useful and enjoyable introduction to a beautiful and eminently walkable city.Some of the information is out of date - a number of the establishments mentioned in the book are now closed, presumably due to the Eritrean economy's difficult straights.Let's hope that Ethiopia and Eritrea can overcome their joint and singular difficulties.
A fascinating country
I have used the Lonely Planet Guide for two visits to Ethiopia.I haven't been to Eritrea so I can't comment on the guide for that country.
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Subjects:  1. Africa    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Eritrea    5. Ethiopia    6. Travel & holiday guides   

Reviews (9)

The crimes of Mengistu and the Dergue.
This book is almost completely about how the Communist government of Ethiopia misled the West into thinking that a small harvest was the reason for the mass starvation of 1984.Most remember this as the time when the charitable West stepped in with huge donations of grain and musician celebrities formed to perfom Band Aid.It is bad because the main culprit was the dictator Mengistu and his Communist buddies doing forced resettlement, collectivization, and centralized villages.They wanted to win the civil war raging in Ethiopia and install a Marxist government.Millions died, the Hollywood establishment blamed bad weather, and leftists told the West they weren't doing enough.Well the Ethiopian government could have stopped the genocide by stopping its failed policies.
Robert kaplan need more research
The book takes a view of one side approach. I lived in Ethiopia in the 1980's and most of the staff Mr. Kaplan talked about never happened. The historical facts are missing. Emperor Menelik was not the first Amhara king there was Emperor Tewdros form Gojam which is the main Amhara region who united Ethiopia from Red Sea to Showa. Reading the book makes me think that the author had a good close relationship with then gorilla fighters now the people in power in Ethiopia and its former province Eriteria.

The worst book on the Horn of Africa I have ever read
Kaplan's book "Balkan Ghosts" was described by slavist H. Cooper (Slavic Review 52, 1993) as "a dreadful mix of unfounded generalizations, misinformation, outdated sources, personal prejudices and bad writing". The same can be applied to "Surrender or starve". Any specialist could point dozens of minor errors in this book, but lack of scholarship is not the worst. Kaplan is exasperatingly tendentious and partial and his extraordinary simplification and misunderstanding of the conflict in the Horn is outrageous. He overemphasizes the ethnic component, sometimes dangerously approaching racism in his contempt for the Amharas (they are all intrinsically bad). To be sure, the Derg (the communist regime) was evil, but linking a particular culture (the Amharas) with a transient political regime that was imposed against the people's will is absolutely wrong. Besides, anyone minimally informed knows how many Amharas suffered by the resettlement policies of the Derg.
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Subjects:  1. 1974-    2. Africa    3. Africa - East - Ethiopia    4. Africa, Northeast    5. Contemporary Politics - Africa    6. Description and travel    7. Famines    8. Food supply    9. History - General History    10. International Relations - General    11. Political Science    12. Politics and government    13. Politics/International Relations    14. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    15. Political Science / International Relations    16. Political structure & processes   

Reviews (7)

From Africa's Horn
I live in Norway, and Africa's Horn is far from my everyday life. I have travelled several times to Eritrea though, and have been searching for guide books from the country. When I went to Eritrea last fall it was with great pleasure I bought the LP book by Frances Linzee Gordon, Ethiopia, Eritrea & Djibouti. LP's best!
As a Lonely Planet author, I'd like to echo the words of other reviewers of this book. This is clearly Lonely Planet's best title - the writing is clear, concise and informative, the asides are entertaining, the tone is objective yet engaging, and Frances Linzee Gordon's photos are nothing short of spectacular. Congratulations, Frances - you've produced a winner!

Great reference book!
A recent front page article in the New York Times on the Lalibela churches in northern Ethiopia sent me running for my LP copy of this book. I was most pleasantly surprised to find over a dozen pages of detailed information on this incredible center of early Christianity. F. Linzee-Gordon's first hand account of a visit to the churches provided a most informative background lacking in the NY Times article. Well done! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Africa    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Eritrea    5. Ethiopia    6. Travel & holiday guides   

Reviews (2)

Disappointing map of Eritrea
I bought the ITM Map of Eritrea hoping to get a detailed, up-to-date, and carefully drawn map of that interesting country in East Africa. I know Eritrea fairly well from several visits, careful study of their history, and friendship linking. But alas, this map is inaccurate, it contains few details, and the factual information inserted in the map is difficult to read. The map also contains a historical account of Eritrea. I find the narrative dubious in many regards. For instance, it is claimed that 'Arabs' developed the kingdom of Aksum by the third century, while historians now believe that the Axumite culture may well have originated in Africa. No mention is made of the interesting connection between Egypt and Punt (believed by many to be Eritrea) in the third and second millennium BC. To sum up: a very disappointing map - qualifying for one star in my evaluation.

Go buy it
Most detailed cartography of Eritrea I have seen so far.

Subjects:  1. Children's 9-12    2. General    3. Maps    4. Africa    5. Eritrea    6. Maps, charts & atlases    7. Travel & holiday guides   

Reviews (2)

good travel guide
To my knowledge this is the only guidebook in English devoted solely to Eritrea.The closest comparator is the Lonely Planet guide which covers both Ethiopia and Eritrea.As one might expect in a volume devoted purely to Eritrea, this volume has more information and detail (more maps of specific towns, for example) and the historical discussion of the origins of the independence movement is informative.As another reviewer mentioned, successive political regimes have changed the names of streets in downtown Asmara; in my experience, local people are familiar with both the "traditional" and the "official" names, and the use of the maps in this guide was not problematic. The one aspect in which the Lonely Planet guide tops this book is in that book's walking tours which I found quite useful.

Inaccurate & Uninspiring
This is one of the poorest guidebooks I have ever used!
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Subjects:  1. Africa    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Eritrea    5. Travel & holiday guides    6. Travel / Africa   

Features

• Illustrated

Reviews (2)

30 years of war: the Aftermath + more war

An interesting find
I noticed this book by chance on a library shelf while searching specifically for something else; it looked interesting, so I got it out as well. Pretty comprehensive look at post-independence Eritrea at a grasp-able level, including photos. Would make a great book to take along while traveling, etc.
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Subjects:  1. Africa    2. Essays & Travelogues    3. General    4. Travel    5. Travel - General    6. AFRICA_SOCIAL CONDITIONS    7. ERITREA_DESCRIPTION AND TRAVEL    8. Eritrea    9. Travel / Africa    10. Travel writing   

Reviews (1)

A practical book
The sub-title 'A tourist guide' describes exactly what this is. It's very practical, with information on what clothes to take, how to rent a car, tipping, visas, places of interest and places to stay. I've not (yet) been to Eritrea, but there is plenty of useful information here plus a little general background on history and culture. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Africa    2. Eritrea    3. Guidebooks    4. Reference - General    5. Travel    6. Travel - Foreign    7. Travel & holiday guides   

Subjects:  1. Travel / Africa   

Subjects:  1. Atlases   

Reviews (1)

Its all in the name!
In what appears to be the first and only book ever by a Mottern, this dispels, in convincing fashion, that ugly stereotype that we can't reed or right ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1974-    2. Africa, Northeast    3. Chad    4. Description and travel    5. Food relief    6. Politics and government    7. Politics/International Relations    8. Journeys    9. Mottern, Nicholas   

Subjects:  1. Eritrea    2. Travel writing   

Subjects:  1. Travel   

Subjects:  1. Africa    2. Business & Economics    3. Business/Economics    4. Development - Sustainable Development    5. Environmental Conservation & Protection - General    6. Exports & Imports    7. International - General    8. Travel - Foreign    9. Conservation of the environment    10. TRAVEL & HOLIDAY   

Subjects:  1. Africa    2. General    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign    5. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    6. TRAVEL & HOLIDAY   

Subjects:  1. Biography: general    2. Eritrea    3. Ethiopia    4. Travel writing   

Reviews (10)

fun reading
If you can not go to these places yourself, it is fun to at least read about them. Loved it.

Either she should not visit or not have written a book!
Poor Julia, What a great find! Excellent reading and good fun!
It is not a surprise to me that there are such mixed reviews of this book. It is obvious by reading the reviews that you either loved it or hated it. That said, I read it and thought it was fantastic! If you have an opened mind, and a sense of wonder - as does the author of this book - than it will be apparent that most of these negative reviews have an alterior motive. Why is that? Africa is a continent that is as diverse as these reviews! Coincidence? Please read this book with the intent that it was written: as a travel narrative. How often are we lucky enough to read the accounts of a woman travelling through these two contrasting countries? It is a perspective; and like any work of art it brings something different in everyone who views it. I'm happy to say that this book gave me an excellent insight into these countries in an easy to read and understand manner. Ms. Stewart's experiences seem wonderful, scary, mysterious...all description given to the countries as well as the continent. Bravo! It's a rare treasure and wonderful addition to my library! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Africa    2. Description and travel    3. Eritrea    4. Essays & Travelogues    5. Ethiopia    6. Social life and customs    7. Stewart, Julia    8. Travel    9. Travel - Foreign    10. Travel & holiday guides   

Subjects:  1. Eritrea    2. Guidebooks   

Subjects:  1. Africa    2. Africa - East    3. Contemporary Politics - Africa    4. Government - General    5. Social Science    6. Social Sciences (General)    7. Sociology - General    8. Spanish: Adult Nonfiction    9. Travel - Foreign    10. Travel / Africa   

Subjects:  1. Africa    2. General    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign    5. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    6. TRAVEL & HOLIDAY   

Subjects:  1. Africa    2. International - General    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign    5. International business    6. TRAVEL & HOLIDAY