Devil Came on Horseback, The:
Bearing Witness to the Genocide in Darfur

by Brian Steidle and Gretchen Steidle Wallace

Copyright 2007 by Brian Steidle and Gretchen Steidle Wallace. All Rights Reserved.

Categories:  Contemporary  Memoir  Politics

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Description

Former United States Marine Brian Steidle served for six months in Darfur as an unarmed military observer for the African Union. There he witnessed first-hand the ongoing genocide, and documented every day of his experience using email, audio journals, notebook after notebook and nearly 1,000 photographs. Gretchen Steidle Wallace, his sister, who wrote this book with Brian, corresponded with him throughout his time in Darfur. Fired upon, taken hostage, a witness to villages destroyed and people killed, frustrated by his mission's limitations and the international community's reluctance to intervene, Steidle resigned and has since become an advocate for the world to step in and stop this genocide. The Devil Came on Horseback depicts the tragic impact of an Arab government bent on destroying its black African citizens, the maddening complexity of international inaction in response to blatant genocide, and the awkward, yet heroic transformation of a former Marine turned humanitarian. It is a gripping and moving memoir that bears witness to atrocities we have too long averted our eyes from, and reveals that the actions of just one committed person have the power to change the world.

Praise for The Devil Came on Horseback

"For six months this American member of an AU observer team served the truth, channeling his horror and anger into scrupulous documentation of the hell of Darfur in photographs, notes and e-mails. (His efforts were also chronicled in a recent documentary of the same title.) His work in Darfur lends this absolutely necessary book its compelling immediacy and irrefutable authenticity, as a testament now and for years to come."
—Los Angeles Times

"This impassioned memoir is a cry of conscience and an informative, if politically and historically limited, analysis by a former U.S. Marine . . . Steidle's personal and fluent account effectively channels an idealistic, adventuresome young man's growing frustration and horror in the face of ongoing crimes against humanity and international complacency."
—Publishers Weekly

"Nothing could be more necessary or timely . . . than Brian Steidle's The Devil Came on Horseback, a powerful first-hand account of the Darfur genocide . . . individuals like Steidle are achieving more for Darfur's victims than all the exertions of the U.N. Human Rights Council combined."
—New York Post

"The story is as compelling as it is devastating. What comes forth in the book are the feelings of despair and helplessness on the part of eyewitnesses in the face of human cruelty . . . Mr. Steidle juxtaposes the government propaganda against the images of genocide, and he allows the reader to be the judge."
—National Catholic Reporter

About the Authors

Brian Steidle, a former Captain in the Marine Corps, worked for the African Union where he served in Darfur. He has made several return trips to Africa and now gives lectures across the country, including Harvard, Princeton, Stanford and UCLA, about Darfur. Gretchen Steidle Wallace, Brian's sister and the founder of Global Grassroots, has a BA in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia and an MBA from the Tuck School at Dartmouth College. They live in New Hampshire.

Extended Copyright Information

Copyright 2007 by Brian Steidle and Gretchen Steidle Wallace. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, address PublicAffairs, 250 West 57th Street, Suite 1321, New York, NY 10107.

Previously published by PublicAffairs, a member of the Perseus Books Group.

Cover photo: Brian Steidle.

Opening Lines (Experimental)

Dedicated to the memory of Mihad Hamid.
She gave her life so that I could tell her story.
because of who they are.
It was 8:00 p.m. on a Saturday night, January 24, 2004, and I had been traveling for nearly twenty-four hours. As our plane descended into Khartoum, dim lights outlined the city limits ...

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