About this item

An insurgency in Nigeria by the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram has left thousands dead, shaken Africas biggest nation and worried the world. Yet they remain a mysterious-almost unknowable-organization. Through extensive on-the-ground reporting, Smith takes readers inside the violence and provides the first in-depth account of the conflict. He traces Boko Haram from its beginnings in Nigerias remote northeast to its transformation into a hydra-headed monster, deploying suicide bombers and abducting schoolgirls. Much of the book is told from the perspective of Nigerians who have found themselves caught between the violence of insurgents, brutal security forces and an inept government. It includes the stories of a police officer left paralyzed, women whose husbands have been murdered and a sword-wielding vigilante using charms to fend off insurgent bullets.