Armed Struggle in Africa: With the Guerrillas in “Portuguese” Guinea by Gérard Chaliand is everything the title implies and much more. We are not only given the general history of Africans under Portuguese colonialism in “Portuguese” Guinea—which leads to the war for national liberation in 1963—but we are also provided an on the ground account of the struggle with the PAIGC (African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde) maquis (rural guerrillas), and also with their leader, the revolutionary Amilcar Cabral. In addition to on the on the ground accounts, the author provides his observations and analysis regarding the underpopulation of African due to slavery and colonialism, the effects of the “brain drain” on further development in Africa, neocolonialism, the dynamics of class struggle in Africa, American re-colonization of Africa via “humanitarian” campaigns, etc.
