Surviving Biafra by Elizabeth S Bird
A remarkable ordinary person's story that captures the day-to-day reality of life during the bloody conflict that divided Nigeria in the late 1960s.
‘Umelo’s harrowing account does not exoticize. . she captures the reality of living in Biafra – from the early excitement to the bitter end. Surviving Biafra takes its place in a valuable corpus of grassroots accounts . . . Putting ordinary people to the fore, it reminds us that women often pay the greatest price in war.’
'A vital female contribution to discourse on the war.' -- Africa Today
‘Reading 'Surviving Biafra' is in many ways exceptionally thrilling. The text is a combination of history, autobiography, biography and strands of a story including what could be described as semi-fictions to make a new literary genre.’ -- African Studies Quarterly
A captivating account of Nigeria's war. Having heard the voices of a cross-section of Igbo and Nigerian women, we welcome the voice of a woman from across the seas who lived through the tragedy with us.' -- Egodi Uchendu
'Rosina Umelo, an English teacher married to a Biafran, lived through Nigeria's civil war, giving birth and raising a family in the middle of it. This is both her story and the story of the people she lived among, vividly told.' -- Jonathan Derrick
'Here is a book on Biafra that juxtaposes the dualities: the historical and figurative narratives; history and memory; the complexity and simplicity of politics and warfare; the incredulity and reality of facts; the very essence of life and death; and the personal engagements with plenty and hunger, desire and denial.' -- Toyin Falola
'A vital female contribution to discourse on the war.' -- Africa Today
‘Reading 'Surviving Biafra' is in many ways exceptionally thrilling. The text is a combination of history, autobiography, biography and strands of a story including what could be described as semi-fictions to make a new literary genre.’ -- African Studies Quarterly
A captivating account of Nigeria's war. Having heard the voices of a cross-section of Igbo and Nigerian women, we welcome the voice of a woman from across the seas who lived through the tragedy with us.' -- Egodi Uchendu
'Rosina Umelo, an English teacher married to a Biafran, lived through Nigeria's civil war, giving birth and raising a family in the middle of it. This is both her story and the story of the people she lived among, vividly told.' -- Jonathan Derrick
'Here is a book on Biafra that juxtaposes the dualities: the historical and figurative narratives; history and memory; the complexity and simplicity of politics and warfare; the incredulity and reality of facts; the very essence of life and death; and the personal engagements with plenty and hunger, desire and denial.' -- Toyin Falola
S. Elizabeth Bird is Professor of Anthropology at the University of South Florida. Her books include The Asaba Massacre: Trauma, Memory and the Nigerian Civil War, co-authored with Fraser Ottanelli. Rosina Umelo lived in Nigeria for fifty years, working as a teacher, writer and editor, most recently at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan. She now lives near London.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781849049580 |
| ISBN 10 | 1849049580 |
| Title | Surviving Biafra |
| Author | Elizabeth S Bird |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd |
| Year published | 2018-10-18 |
| Number of pages | 256 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |