Battle for Angola: The End of the Cold War in Africa c. 1975-89 - Softcover

Venter, Al J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1914059026 ISBN 13: 9781914059025

Publisher: Helion and Company, 2021

Synopsis

Following the publication of Al Venter’s successful Portugal’s Guerrilla Wars in Africa - shortlisted by the New York Military Affairs Symposium’s 'Arthur Goodzeit Book Award for 2013' - his Battle for Angola delves further still into the troubled history of this former Portuguese African colony.

For the sake of continuity, the author has included several chapters on that colonial struggle in this work, with the main thrust on events before and after - including the civil war that followed Lisbon’s over-hasty departure back to the metrópole, as well as the role of South African mercenaries in defeating the rebel leader Dr Jonas Savimbi (considered by some as the most accomplished guerrilla leader to emerge in Africa in the past century). He is helped by several notable authorities, including the French historian Dr René Pélissier and the American academic and former naval aviator Dr John (Jack) Cann. With their assistance, he covers several ancillary uprisings and invasions, including the Herero revolt of the early 20th century; the equally-troubled Ovambo insurrection, as well as the invasion of Angola by the Imperial German Army in the First World War. An important section deals with the South African Border War, because without Angola, that would never have happened - nor 'Operation Savannah' and the invasion of Angola from the south. Finally, the role of the Cuban Revolutionary Army receives the attention it deserves.

About this title

About the Author

Al J. Venter is a specialist military writer and has had 50 books published. He started his career with Geneva’s Interavia Group, then owners of International Defence Review, to cover military developments in the Middle East and Africa. Venter has been writing on these and related issues such as guerrilla warfare, insurgency, the Middle East and conflict in general for half a century. He was involved with Jane’s Information Group for more than 30 years and was a stringer for the BBC, NBC News (New York) as well as London’s Daily Express and Sunday Express. He branched into television work in the early 1980s and produced more than 100 documentaries, many of which were internationally flighted. His one-hour film, 'Africa’s Killing Fields' (on the Ugandan civil war), was shown nationwide in the United States on the PBS network. Other films include an hour-long program on the fifth anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, as well as 'AIDS: The African Connection', nominated for China’s Pink Magnolia Award. His last major book was 'Portugal’s Guerrilla Wars in Africa', nominated in 2013 for New York’s Arthur Goodzeit military history book award. It has gone into three editions, including translation into Portuguese.

Edition details

• Publisher: Helion and Company
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1914059026
• ISBN 13: 9781914059025
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 562