"The Sudan for most people is just a name in the news. This magnificent book corrects that; its wise and well-informed text and lavish pictures give the country a face--irresistable, photogenic, bewitching, and profoundly human, in all its fabulous Sudanese variety."
Paul Theroux, author of The Great Railway Bazaar
Armed internal conflict, drought, and famine have plagued Sudan—Africa’s largest and most culturally complex country—since its independence in 1956. A comprehensive peace agreement signed in January 2005 ended Sudan’s bloody civil war, putting its people on a challenging journey to create a nation in which all Sudanese can live and prosper together. Sudan: The Land and the People is the first illustrated book to depict the whole of the country. In text and images, this volume not only illuminates the difficulties confronting Sudanese but also highlights the enormous and often overlooked economic and human potential of the country.
In a trio of thoughtful essays, authors Timothy Carney and Victoria Butler focus on Sudan’s history, land, and people. More than a quarter-million years ago, the first Homo sapiens lived in Sudan’s Nile River valley, and five thousand years ago Sudan gave Africa its first black kingdom. The authors clearly recount the country’s more recent past, putting Sudan’s modern conflicts in historical context. A chapter on the physical landscape draws attention to the dominant influence of the Nile River on Sudanese peoples, culture, and economy. A final essay explores the rich blend of African and Arab peoples and cultures that give Sudanese society its great diversity as well as its turbulence.
Bringing all of Sudan to vivid life are the stunning images of acclaimed photographer Michael Freeman, who traveled the length and breadth of the country over a period of two years. His unforgettable photographs illustrate a grand, vast geography from savannahs and swamps to rocky hills and desert. He visited all the major towns in every region and some villages that no Westerner had seen in decades. Nomads, herders, and farmers, teachers and students, lawyers and doctors, industrialists and laborers—all inhabit the pages of this book. The pictures show Sudanese getting married, having children, and growing old. They capture Muslims, Christians, and followers of traditional religions. Freeman’s camera has caught, as former President Jimmy Carter notes in his foreword, “the essential humanity of Sudan.”