Have been catching up on my Sudan reading recently for a big Darfur project. Found quite a few books I bought when I first arrived in Nairobi and abandoned after a couple of chapters. Some of them are much more interesting once you recognise the names and already have a bit of a handle on what’s been happening in Khartoum. One of those is by Don Petterson, who was US ambassador there from 1991-1995. I particularly enjoyed his chapter headings:

• 1. Assignment Sudan: First The Ending…
• 5. The Troubles Begin
• 7. Hanging In
• 9. From Bad to Worse
• 13. A Spring of Little Promise
• 14. No Peace in Our Time
• 16. More Events in Khartoum and Elsewhere
• 18. New Year, Same Old Problems

A glass half full kind of chap?