About this item
In The Mayor of Mogadishu, one of the BBC's most experienced foreign correspondents, Andrew Harding, reveals the tumultuous life of Mohamoud "Tarzan" Nur - an impoverished nomad who was abandoned in a state orphanage in newly independent Somalia, and became a street brawler and activist. When the country collapsed into civil war and anarchy, Tarzan and his young family became part of an exodus, eventually spending twenty years in north London.But in 2010 Tarzan returned, as Mayor, to the unrecognizable ruins of a city now almost entirely controlled by the Islamist militants of Al Shabab. For many in Mogadishu, and in the diaspora, Tarzan became a galvanizing symbol of courage and hope for Somalia. But for others, he was a divisive thug, who sank beneath the corruption and clan rivalries that continue, today, to threaten the country's revival.The Mayor of Mogadishu is a rare an insider's account of Somalia's unraveling, and an intimate portrayal of one family's extraordinary journey.
About the Author
I'm the BBC's Africa Correspondent, based in Johannesburg. I'm the author of "These Are Not Gentle People," a true-crime novel set in South Africa and published in South Africa, the UK and the Netherlands. (The book has been turned into a BBC Radio 4 series and podcast, "Blood Lands.") Alexander McCall Smith described the book as "a masterpiece." Philippe Sands called it "utterly gripping, timely and shocking. "This is In Cold Blood meets Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil. Believe me, Andrew Harding has given us an instant classic," said Justice Malala.I also wrote the internationally acclaimed non-fiction book, "The Mayor of Mogadishu" - the tale of a nomad, turned street brawler, turned refugee who left his family in London to return to take charge of the war-ravaged ruins of Somalia's capital. It was praised by the New York Times, The Economist, The Washington Post and chosen as one of NPR's books of 2016.I've been a foreign correspondent since 1991 when I moved to the crumbling Soviet Union as a freelancer. I've lived and worked abroad ever since, in Moscow, Tbilisi, Nairobi, Singapore, Bangkok, and for the past 12 years, in Johannesburg. I'm married with 3 sons. I began working for a variety of outlets including The Guardian and The Economist, but since 1994, I've been a BBC foreign correspondent.I'm not keen on the phrase "war correspondent" but I seem to have spent an awful lot of the past 25 years covering conflicts, from the parliamentary rebellion in Moscow in 1993, to Chechnya, Azerbaijan, Abkhazia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, Burma, Sudan, DRCongo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mali, Cote D'Ivoire, CAR, Burundi, Uganda, Libya and elsewhere. I won an Emmy for my reporting from CAR, along with many other international awards.www.andrew-harding.com
