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Author Vertin, Zach, author.

Title A rope from the sky : the making and unmaking of the world's newest state / Zach Vertin.

Publication Info. New York : Pegasus Books, 2019.
©2019

Copies

Location Call No. Status
 Manchester, Main Library - Non Fiction  962.9 VERTIN    Check Shelf
 Middletown, Russell Library - Adult Nonfiction  962.9 VER    Check Shelf
 Middletown, Russell Library - Adult Nonfiction  962.4043 VER    Check Shelf
 New Britain, Main Library - Non Fiction  962.9 VER    Check Shelf
Edition First Pegasus books edition.
Description xxv, 497 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (chiefly color), maps (some color) ; 24 cm
Note Map on lining papers.
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 461-486) and index.
Contents Part I: The making of South Sudan. Boomtown ; A damp hell ; War, peace, and the Americans ; "Saving" Darfur ; The accidental president ; Rebel with a PhD ; It isn't yet ; A turbulent union ; A very greedy boy ; Drinking the milk ; A messy divorce ; Inception -- Part II: The unmaking. The nuclear option ; Waldorf Astoria ; Rocking the boat ; War ; Alarm -- Part III. Picking up the pieces. Tipping point ; Business as usual ; From the bush to the palace ; Houses divided ; Love lost ; Koang's dilemma -- Epilogue.
Summary The birth of South Sudan was celebrated the world round--a triumph for global justice and the end of one of the world's most devastating wars. The Republic's historic independence was acclaimed not only by its long-oppressed people, but by three U.S. presidents and the legions of Americans who championed their cause. But the celebration would not last; South Sudan's freedom-fighters soon plunged their new nation back into chaos, shattering the promise of liberation and exposing the hubris of their American backers. Drawing on extraordinary personal stories of identity, liberation, and survival, A Rope from the Sky tells an epic story of paradise won and then lost. Zach Vertin's firsthand accounts from deadly war zones to the halls of Washington power bring readers on an extraordinary journey into the rise and fall of the world's newest state. South Sudan's untold story is a unique episode in global history--an unprecedented experiment in international state-building, and a cautionary tale. Where Team of Rivals meets The Last King of Scotland, this gripping narrative follows an unlikely cast of liberators as they crusade from the bush to the palace and back. Long darlings of the West, South Sudan's guerillas were backed by an unprecedented coalition of Democrats and Republicans, ideologues and activists, evangelical Christians and Hollywood celebrities. This zealous alliance helped deliver an oppressed people from tyranny, only to watch in horror as their chosen heroes then turned their guns on each other. A Rope from the Sky is propelled by characters both inspired and ordinary -- their aspirations are matched by insecurities, their sins by courage and kindness. It is first a story of hope, power, greed, compassion, and conscience-shocking violence from the world's most neglected patch of territory. But it is also a story about the best and worst of America -- both our big-hearted ideals and our difficult reckoning with the limits of American power amid a world in disarray. From moonlit battlefields and glitzy hotel ballrooms to the emerald green marshes of the Nile, A Rope from the Sky is brilliant and breathtaking, a modern-day Greek tragedy that will challenge our perspectives on global politics.
Subject South Sudan -- History -- 21st century.
South Sudan -- Politics and government -- 21st century.
Sudan -- History -- Civil War, 1983-2005 -- Peace.
United States -- Foreign relations -- South Sudan.
South Sudan -- Foreign relations -- United States.
Diplomatic relations. (OCoLC)fst01907412
Peace. (OCoLC)fst01055758
Politics and government. (OCoLC)fst01919741
South Sudan. (OCoLC)fst01773109
Sudan. (OCoLC)fst01204591
United States. (OCoLC)fst01204155
Sudanese Civil War (Sudan : 1983-2005) (OCoLC)fst01352323
Chronological Term 2000-2099
Genre/Form History. (OCoLC)fst01411628
ISBN 9781643130514 (hardcover)
164313051X (hardcover)
9781643134765 (soft cover)
1643134760 (soft cover)
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