Rating: 
Summary: Gripping!
Review: Anybody not familiar with Kapucsinski's insightful and entertaining expedtions in the world's forgotten corners would do well to start with 'Another Day of Life.' A fast, page-turning account of Angola's tumultuous last days before independence (and the start of one of Africa's longest and bloodiest civil wars!), 'Another Day of Life' viscerally captures the utter chaos of war. Kapucsinski brilliantly illuminates a world where friend and foe slaughter each other through the steamy, tropical nights and then sleep it off during the burning days. In a world where your death comes at the hands of a Kalishnikov-totting ten-year old, where one false step means a life without legs, where the next check-point down a body-scattered road could be your last, Kapuscinski makes us look straight into the face of 'confusao,' the mind-numbing, senseless confusion of war.Terse, nimble and always entertaining, Kapucinski's musical prose turns the pages for you. At about 130 pages, this is the ideal one-sit read. While the narrative meanders all over the place, you can't help but hold on tight, waiting to see what's next around the bend. Hold on as the sights, sounds and stenches of sub-Saharan African jump right off the page.....whether its the icy calm before an ambush, the bed full of cockroaches or the oppressive uncertainty lurking in the bush....Kapucsinski puts his reader right beside him as he bumps along that mine-strewn bush road. While his books are always long on atmosphere, they are often short on detail. But with 'Another Day,' your imagination has more than enough to feed on. For those looking for the door into Kapucsinski-land, this little gem holds the key. More cohesive than 'The Soccer War,' more inspired than 'Shah of Shahs,' 'Another Day of Life' is the perfect intro to his African Queen, 'Shadow of the Sun.' So sink into your arm-chair and grab on tight, as this master story-teller takes you for a ride!
Rating:
Summary: Gripping!
Review: Anybody not familiar with Kapucsinski's trenchant and infinitely entertaining 'pieces' on some of the world's forgotten corners would do well to start with 'Another Day of Life.' A fast, page-turning account of Angola's tumultuous last days before independence (and the start of one of Africa's longest and bloodiest civil wars!), 'Another Day of Life' viscerally captures the utter chaos of war. Kapucsinski brilliantly illuminates a world where friend and foe slaughter each other throw the steamy,tropical nights and then sleep it off during the burning days. In a world where your death comes at the hands of a Kalishnikov-totting ten-year old, where one false step means a life in a wheel-chair, where the next check-point down a body-scattered road could be your last, Kapuscinski makes us look straight into the face of 'confusao,' the mind-numbing, senseless confusion not just of the Angolan Civil War, but of all wars. Terse, nimble and always a bit ironic, Kapucinski's musical prose turns the pages for you. At about 130 pages, this is the ideal one-sit read. While the narrative meanders all over the place, you can't help but hold on tight, waiting to see what's next around the bend. Like his other work, 'Another Day of Life' takes you there. Hold on as the sights, sounds and stenches of sub-Saharan African jump right off the page.....whether its the icy calm before an ambush, the bed full of cockroaches or the oppressive uncertainty of whether this day will be your last....Kapucsinski puts his reader right beside him as he bumps along that mine-strewn bush road. While his books are always long on atmosphere and 'feeling,' details are often left up to the reader. But in this case, your imagination has more than enough to feed on. For those looking for the door into Kapucsinski-land, this little gem holds the key. More cohesive than 'The Soocer War,' more inspired than 'Shah of Shahs,' 'Another Day of Life' is the perfect intro to his African Queen, 'Shadow of the Sun.' and European King, 'Imperium.' So sink into your arm-chair and grab on tight, as this master story-teller takes you for a ride!
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting Read
Review: As a reader with very little knowledge of history in Africa - this book sparked in me a strong interest to learn more. Kapuscinski tells of his time spent in Angola as a journalist during an unstable revolutionary period in the 1960's. He details the power struggle between 3 political warring factions that were fighting for control of Angola following an exodus of Portuguese colonists back to the home country. Kapuscinski is a journalist - and was in the country to investigate and report on the war. However, the risks that he took in getting the story were much greater than could be expected of even the most dedicated journalist. Led by his adventuresome spirit and voracious curiousity, Kapuscinski placed himself in the most dangerous of situations. In fact - it was quite clear from the narrative that Kapuscinski was lucky to survive the entire expreince. The result is an eye-opening tale of the horrors of war and the plight of the people that found themself swept up in the fight. The confusion was such that many of the Angolan natives found themselves as pawns of large external political forces with little or no knowledge of what it was they were fighting for. The beginning of the book contains a map that helps the reader to follow Kapuscinski during his extensive journeys throughout Angola. The last 20 pages or so contains some insightful historical information on the country of Angola which helps to put the events of the book into historical perspective. However, it would be mistake to classify this book as strictly a work of history as it satisfies on many levels.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting Read
Review: As a reader with very little knowledge of history in Africa - this book sparked in me a strong interest to learn more. Kapuscinski tells of his time spent in Angola as a journalist during an unstable revolutionary period in the 1960's. He details the power struggle between 3 political warring factions that were fighting for control of Angola following an exodus of Portuguese colonists back to the home country. Kapuscinski is a journalist - and was in the country to investigate and report on the war. However, the risks that he took in getting the story were much greater than could be expected of even the most dedicated journalist. Led by his adventuresome spirit and voracious curiousity, Kapuscinski placed himself in the most dangerous of situations. In fact - it was quite clear from the narrative that Kapuscinski was lucky to survive the entire expreince. The result is an eye-opening tale of the horrors of war and the plight of the people that found themself swept up in the fight. The confusion was such that many of the Angolan natives found themselves as pawns of large external political forces with little or no knowledge of what it was they were fighting for. The beginning of the book contains a map that helps the reader to follow Kapuscinski during his extensive journeys throughout Angola. The last 20 pages or so contains some insightful historical information on the country of Angola which helps to put the events of the book into historical perspective. However, it would be mistake to classify this book as strictly a work of history as it satisfies on many levels.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent read
Review: I read parts of the Emperor in college and expected a lot of this book. Well, it delivered. Kapuscinski shows more in this book about the civil war in Angola than one would expect. They say that a good journalist stays impartial and doesn't get involved with his story, but this proves the opposite. The author goes to Angola at the last minute and burrows into the country. He almost becomes a citizen, learning the local custom and showing how life actually is. This book is full of insight into the human condition, the problems caused by colonialism, and how stupid war can be. This isn't a war of the front and trenches, its chaos. Chaos dictated by the rules of living in a harsh place like Angola. The weekends are days of rest, the heat prevents battle, children fight and lose interest. Kapuscinski shows a side to this civil war, and in turn other wars, that you never get to see. This books is funny, touching, sad, and well written. It reads like a novel, it has character and place. The difference is its true. An excellent book for the history lover or the literary lover.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent read
Review: I read parts of the Emperor in college and expected a lot of this book. Well, it delivered. Kapuscinski shows more in this book about the civil war in Angola than one would expect. They say that a good journalist stays impartial and doesn't get involved with his story, but this proves the opposite. The author goes to Angola at the last minute and burrows into the country. He almost becomes a citizen, learning the local custom and showing how life actually is. This book is full of insight into the human condition, the problems caused by colonialism, and how stupid war can be. This isn't a war of the front and trenches, its chaos. Chaos dictated by the rules of living in a harsh place like Angola. The weekends are days of rest, the heat prevents battle, children fight and lose interest. Kapuscinski shows a side to this civil war, and in turn other wars, that you never get to see. This books is funny, touching, sad, and well written. It reads like a novel, it has character and place. The difference is its true. An excellent book for the history lover or the literary lover.
Rating:
Summary: Vale la pena
Review: I thought this book was great. An intense read.
Rating:
Summary: A tremendously informative book
Review: Kapuscinski's "Another Day of Life" was a complete impulse buy for me. Why is it that these are very often the most enjoyable and satifying reading experiences? This slim 144-page, novella-like volume taught me so much about Angola, it's Portugese colonial heritage, the factional fighting that developed in the 60s & came to a head during Kapuscinski's three-month stay in the country in 1975, and the eye-opening level of involvement of such players as Cuba and South Africa. The amazing thing is *how little* things have changed since 1975. Since the fall of Portugal's dictatorship, there has been constant battle for almost 30 years. Jonas Savimbi - introduced here as a very young freedom fighter - was killed in battle only a short time ago. Added bonus: There's a wonderfully sparse little map of the country & the borders of its neighbors at the front of the book. You'll thumb back to that page no less than 50 times while reading "Another Day of Life." The title is apropos..when one of the characters utters the it two-thirds of the way into the book, I thought it was the perfect line at the perfect time. No wonder they culled it out of the book and had it serve as the title as well. I plan on reading the rest of Kapuscinski's works now.
Rating:
Summary: A tremendously informative book
Review: Kapuscinski's "Another Day of Life" was a complete impulse buy for me. Why is it that these are very often the most enjoyable and satifying reading experiences? This slim 144-page, novella-like volume taught me so much about Angola, it's Portugese colonial heritage, the factional fighting that developed in the 60s & came to a head during Kapuscinski's three-month stay in the country in 1975, and the eye-opening level of involvement of such players as Cuba and South Africa. The amazing thing is *how little* things have changed since 1975. Since the fall of Portugal's dictatorship, there has been constant battle for almost 30 years. Jonas Savimbi - introduced here as a very young freedom fighter - was killed in battle only a short time ago. Added bonus: There's a wonderfully sparse little map of the country & the borders of its neighbors at the front of the book. You'll thumb back to that page no less than 50 times while reading "Another Day of Life." The title is apropos..when one of the characters utters the it two-thirds of the way into the book, I thought it was the perfect line at the perfect time. No wonder they culled it out of the book and had it serve as the title as well. I plan on reading the rest of Kapuscinski's works now.
Rating:
Summary: A tremendously informative book
Review: Kapuscinski's "Another Day of Life" was a complete impulse buy for me. Why is it that these are very often the most enjoyable and satifying reading experiences? This slim 144-page, novella-like volume taught me so much about Angola, it's Portugese colonial heritage, the factional fighting that developed in the 60s & came to a head during Kapuscinski's three-month stay in the country in 1975, and the eye-opening level of involvement of such players as Cuba and South Africa. The amazing thing is *how little* things have changed since 1975. Since the fall of Portugal's dictatorship, there has been constant battle for almost 30 years. Jonas Savimbi - introduced here as a very young freedom fighter - was killed in battle only a short time ago. Added bonus: There's a wonderfully sparse little map of the country & the borders of its neighbors at the front of the book. You'll thumb back to that page no less than 50 times while reading "Another Day of Life." The title is apropos..when one of the characters utters the it two-thirds of the way into the book, I thought it was the perfect line at the perfect time. No wonder they culled it out of the book and had it serve as the title as well. I plan on reading the rest of Kapuscinski's works now.
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