A magnificent book, all 228 pages. Huband's documentation alone is enough to guarantee the high quality of this book to anyone interested in the Islamist movement.

More than ever, it has become imperative for the West to understand the Arab world. Warriors of the Prophet chronicles Osama bin Laden's ascent to power during the Islamic Afghan resistance to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Author Mark Huband reveals the important role bin Laden played in uniting the Arab Muslims with their Afghan compatriots and spreading the ideology of the jihad, or holy war, to protect Islam, to all the various Islamic factions that took part in the war in Afghanistan. Although a number of recent books address the rise of fundamentalist movements in the Islamic world, none attempt to explain to general readers the emergence, character, and significance of that revival, nor do they bring together the many voices dividing both conservative and liberal currents in the region. I found this book extremely useful and quite compelling - a surefire way to get at the Middle East "problem" and ways in which we can do something about it. The tone is fluid yet serious, just the kind of perspective I needed. I recommended this with great confidence.

...I turned to this book with the hope that author Mark Huband could shed some light upon the enigma known as the fundamentalist Islamic phenomenon. From a layperson's standpoint, this book was an invaluable resource for understanding the complexities of the Middle East factions, including their history, motives, religious beliefs, and political alliances. Fortunately, the book takes specific notice of Osama bin Laden and the Islamic movements in Afghanistan, an eerie predilection of their role in future world events. With the author's journalistic style and personal anecdotes, the book held my interest as well as its significance to present circumstances. Educating ourselves is the only way we can begin to make sense of the motives behind the terrorist acts, and I found no better resource than Warriors of the Prophet. It has my highest recommendation.

Huband's book is essentially three very different ones on the same subject put together in one jacket. And it ultimately fails to win top marks due to this. Part one , based on his experiences is interesting and gives good eyewitness accounts of events behind rebel lines in 1990. However for those who followed newpaper reports closely at the time [and who like me have files full of Huband's articles] there's little new. Part two, his dogged investigation of the events leading to the war is excellent and I just wonder why the whole book wasn't written in this analytical style. The final part fails to inspire as it is based on the author's attempt to discuss the later events of civil war in the six years that followed the events he witnessed in 1990. A bold, though flawed attempt to explain the 1989-1996 civil war in Liberia. Huband's book should more realistically have been titled ''Liberia: 1990, the start of an African war''.

Marks account of events surrounding the Liberian Civil War is very revealing for many of us Liberians and friends of Liberia who have longed for such information.

Any one who wants an unbiased account of the Liberian Civil War ought to read this book.

Anyone interested in Liberia would do himself or herself a favor by buying this book. Read Elizabeth Blunt's review carefully--she was in Liberia at the time the author was.

Huband's investigative book on the travails of post-Cold War Africa is a good demonstration of the evolution, especially within the journalistic environment, that has occurred over the past decade; the discussions on touchy issues such as "ethnic" conflict (especially in Rwanda) and corruption are more refined, and the accusations of "great powers'" meddling more scathing.

The chapters are arranged in a way which cannot fail but to reveal to the reader how Africa, as an idea, is really more a series of loosely connected "sub-regions" - North Africa, the Great Lakes, Southern Africa.

I found that reading Mahmood Mamdani's enlightening, though slightly repetitive When Victims Become Killers (Princeton UP) before tackling Huband's book was quite helpful, as it, too, addresses the concepts of "race," "ethnicity," and lack of democracy (with the attendant corruption within state institutions). Reading both around the same time is sure to provide the reader a nuanced and in my opinion honest perspective on Africa.

What I find utterly annoying in Huband's book, however, are the numerous quotes in French, most of which are plagued with misspelled words, over capitalization, and bad syntax. These quotes are superficial (the translations, which always follow within parentheses, would have sufficed) and give the reader the impression that the author is attempting to impress us with his (amputated) command of the French language. A consequence of this is that the errors they contain are downright distracting to those who, like myself, know French.

There are better, more complete, books in which to learn the histories of the various conflicts that have plagued the African continent since the Cold War. But as an analysis of the political ramifications of the great power chess game upon the African people, Huband's book is worthy of our undivided attention. Moreover, his emphasis on corrupt, undemocratic governments in Africa is a powerful corrective (though he doesn't address this issue directly) to those in favor of debt forgiveness for highly indebted poor countries (HIPC).