Squandering Eden

This personal account of an ever-changing Africa examines the particular problems of each country in turn. It shows that traditional climactic failures are aggravated by corruption, incompetence and mismanagement, both inside African governments and in international aid organizations and donor countries; by land degradation and booming population and by the growing threat of AIDS. The book is a study of the rich diversity and beauty of Africa and the dignity and spirit of its people. It looks at the great variety of peoples, climates and wildlife, from the disappearing Bushmen and struggling wildebeest of the Kalahari to the Ethiopian famine and the politics of South Africa. Mort Rosenblum is chief foreign correspondent for the Associated Press and is author of "Mission to Civilize". Doug Williamson worked as a lawyer in South Africa and is a visiting scholar at Cambridge University.