Jaalle Maxamed Siyaad Barre

[Safferz]

Chimera;937393 wrote:

No thanks, I like the physical experience of reading that an eReader can't give you... the smell of books, the texture of the pages, the sense of satisfaction of flipping the last page, the notes I scribble in the margins, etc. And I love having books all over my apartment, and I think my library is quite awesome. Books make me happy

[Safferz]

So the need for a rigorous and thorough study of the life of Siad Barre and a history of his regime seems to still remain unfulfilled. A good historian sifts carefully through the sources and does extensive archival and fieldwork to reconstruct a historical narrative, and follows the evidence to make historical conclusions rather than write a book guided by his or her personal views, which is what this book seems to be. I can't say I haven't considered doing it, but it's a huge undertaking.

[Chimera]

Gheelle.T;937480 wrote:

Chimera,

Somalia couldnt sell its case to their allies and hence why the support of then Soviet block shifted in favor of the Ethiopians. The rest is history.

:"

You're very naive if you think any of this communist/socialist rhetoric had any bearing on the Soviet decision to switch sides. They were never convinced of Somalia's communist leanings, not even when they assisted us militarily and economically, not even when their Leader came to Mogadishu as the first Soviet head of state to visit Africa. Siad Barre lost the Soviets when he started playing both superpowers against one another. He made a serious blunder when he allowed American agents access to the Soviet base in Berbera, which is a hilarious breach of the Somali-Soviet friendship treaty, I mean that's seriously insane.

 

Then during the war when Somalia captured the O-region, the Soviets were still on good terms with Somalia, though also lightly arming Ethiopia. Its when Siad Barre kicked them out of Somalia in a humiliating fashion in front of the international community did the Soviets switch sides in earnest, and that's when the largest airlift of arms shipments since the Yom Kippur War happen.

[Chimera]

Safferz;937527 wrote:

No thanks, I like the physical experience of reading that an eReader can't give you... the smell of books, the texture of the pages, the sense of satisfaction of flipping the last page, the notes I scribble in the margins, etc. And I love having books all over my apartment, and I think my library is quite awesome. Books make me happy

I agree. but the Kindle is great for when your tired and you just don't want to hold a book.

[Safferz]

Chimera;937543 wrote:

I agree. but the Kindle is great for when your tired and you just don't want to hold a book.

I have an iPad that I use for reading and annotating PDFs and other documents among other things, so I'm not a complete luddite But nothing compares to an actual book.

[Cambuulo iyo bun]

Aabo Siyaad, who can forget him

[Safferz]

So what books have you guys read about Siad Barre and his government? Maybe we can start putting together a bibliography. I'll post some of what I've read in a bit.

[SomaliPhilosopher]

It sounds like your preparing to write a barre biography safferz

[Safferz]

SomaliPhilosopher;937610 wrote:

It sounds like your preparing to write a barre biography safferz

Nah, but I definitely have an (academic) interest in his regime and there's some overlap with what I'm studying now, so who knows... it wouldn't be a biography though, I'm more interested in a history of that period.

[Wadani]

Safferz;937612 wrote:

Nah, but I definitely have an (academic) interest in his regime and there's some overlap with what I'm studying now, so who knows... it wouldn't be a biography though, I'm more interested in a history of that period.

Ur gonna become a somebody someday insha'Allah.

[Safferz]

Safferz;937602 wrote:

So what books have you guys read about Siad Barre and his government? Maybe we can start putting together a bibliography. I'll post some of what I've read in a bit.

I'm not aware of a full length book about his government, but these all include useful information:

 

Jackson, Donna. 2007. Jimmy Carter and the Horn of Africa: Cold War Policy in Ethiopia and Somalia. Jefferson: McFarland & Company Inc. (focuses on US foreign policy in response to @gaden War)

 

Laitin, David. 1979. The War in the @gaden: Implications for Siyaad’s Role in Somali History. Journal of Modern African Studies 17.1: 95-115.

 

Laitin, David. 1977. Politics, Language, and Thought: The Somali Experience. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

 

Lewis, I.M. 2002. A Modern History of the Somali (4th Edition). Athens: Ohio University Press.

 

Lewis, I.M. 1994. Blood and Bone: The Call of Kinship in Somali Society. Lawrenceville: Red Sea Press.

 

Samatar, Said and David Laitin, eds. 1987. Somalia: A Nation In Search of a State. Boulder: Westview Press.

 

Samatar, Abdi Ismail. 1989. The State and Rural Transformation in Northern Somalia, 1884-1986. Madison: University of Wisconsin.

 

Tareke, Gebru. 2000. The Ethiopia-Somalia War of 1977 Revisited. The International Journal of African Historical Studies 33.3: 635-667. (also a chapter in his book The Ethiopian Revolution)

 

There is also the Indiana University Digital Somali Collection, which includes a number of government publications and posters.

[Safferz]

Wadani;937614 wrote:

Ur gonna become a somebody someday insha'Allah.

Thanks Wadani

[Chimera]

Safferz;937612 wrote:

Nah, but I definitely have an (academic) interest in his regime and there's some overlap with what I'm studying now, so who knows... it wouldn't be a biography though,

I'm more interested in a history of that period.

- A Guide to the Pearl of the Indian Ocean - PDF

 

- Beautiful Somalia - PDF

[SomaliPhilosopher]

Chimera;937663 wrote:

-

A Guide to the Pearl of the Indian Ocean - PDF

 

-

Beautiful Somalia - PDF

Titles that contain words such as "Pearl" and "Beautiful" are probably not suited for academic study

[Chimera]

She was interested in the history of that period, Safferz is smart enough to filter out the government propaganda/country-branding, and take the booklets for what they are; a look at the period through images. Academic studies usually are too sterile and devoid of weasle words to give you a proper insight into the people's mentality and the self-image a country has of itself.