In Luanda, the capital of Angola, an apocalyptic atmosphere prevails as the
Portuguese residents hurriedly desert the city. Determined to cover events
as four hundred years of colonial rule come to an end, Ryszard Kapuscinski
hitched a lift on one of the last Portuguese military aircraft flying to
Angola. He discovered the terrifying spectacle of a war within the war for
national independence: a murderous, messy struggle in which many of the
participants can scarcely tell one another apart. Shot through with wit and
irony, Kapuscinski's superb account vividly conveys the heat, confusion,
fear and unrelenting tension of a country tragically divided by its new
freedom. It is one of the truly great pieces of modern reportage.