The story of a nation in turmoil on its way to splitting in two: “Thoroughly absorbing” (The Wall Street Journal).

In recent decades, the situation in Africa’s largest country, Sudan, progressively deteriorated into a failed state, with a war in Darfur claiming hundreds of thousands of lives. President Bashir was indicted by the International Criminal Court, and after South Sudan became independent in 2011, it was plagued by ethnic violence and human rights abuses.

In this fascinating and immensely readable book, the Africa editor of the Economist gives an absorbing account of Sudan’s descent into failure and what some have called genocide. Drawing on interviews with many of the main players, Richard Cockett explains how and why Sudan has disintegrated, looking in particular at the country’s complex relationship with the wider world. He shows how the United States and Britain were initially complicit in Darfur—but also how a broad coalition of human-rights activists, right-wing Christians, and opponents of slavery succeeded in bringing the issues to prominence in the United States and creating an impetus for change at the highest level.

“Accessible, informative . . . Numerous maps and an impressive bibliography add credibility to this fine work.” —Publishers Weekly