Kindle Price: $11.99

Save $6.00 (33%)

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

Buy for others

Give as a gift or purchase for a team or group.
Learn more

Buying and sending eBooks to others

  1. Select quantity
  2. Buy and send eBooks
  3. Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs

Follow the author

Frederick Forsyth
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Biafra Story: The Making of an African Legend Kindle Edition

by Frederick Forsyth (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 708 ratings
See all formats and editions
A fearless act of journalism in 1960s Nigeria and the true story behind the international bestselling novel The Dogs of War.
 
The Nigerian civil war of the late 1960s was one of the first occasions when Western consciences were awakened and deeply affronted by the level of suffering and the scale of atrocity being played out in the African continent. This was thanks not just to advances in communication technology but to the courage and journalistic skills of foreign correspondents like Frederick Forsyth, who had already earned an enviable reputation for tenacity and accuracy working for Reuters and the BBC.
 
In The Biafra Story, Forsyth reveals the depth of the British Government’s active involvement in the conflict—information which many in power would have preferred to remain secret. General Gowon’s genocide of the Biafran people was facilitated by a ready supply of British arms and advice. Still tragically relevant in its depiction of global affairs, this powerful book also launched Frederick Forsyth to literary stardom by providing him with the background material for The Dogs of War.
 
The dramatic events and shocking political exposures, all delivered with Forsyth’s bold and perceptive style, makes The Biafra Story a compelling lesson in courage.
Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    340 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Pen & Sword Military
  5. Publication date
    March 21, 2015
  6. File size
    3062 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
Next page
Add a debit or credit card to save time when you check out
Convenient and secure with 2 clicks. Add your card
Popular Highlights in this book
What are popular highlights?
Previous page
  1. By 1967 when the Eastern Region pulled out of Nigeria it alone had more doctors, lawyers and engineers than any other country in Negro Africa.
    Highlighted by 63 Kindle readers
  2. To the Emirs Western education was dangerous and they did their utmost to confine it to their own offspring or those of the aristocracy.
    Highlighted by 60 Kindle readers
Next page

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00ZGOZPF0
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pen & Sword Military (March 21, 2015)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 21, 2015
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3062 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 340 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 708 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Frederick Forsyth

Frederick Forsyth

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Frederick Forsyth is the author of a number of bestselling novels including The Day of the Jackel, The Odessa File, The Dogs of War, The Devil's Alternative and The Fourth Protocol. He lives in Hertfordshire, England. www.frederickforsyth.co.uk

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
708 global ratings
BIAFRA RECALLED 50 YEARS ON DOWN THE LINE
5 Stars
BIAFRA RECALLED 50 YEARS ON DOWN THE LINE
It has been 50 years since the BIAFRA outrage.It does well to remember this crime against humanity and the responsibility that must be carried by the Wilson government, in the United Kingdom, and SHELL/BP throughout he 3 year war that cost he lives of over 1,000,000 children. Frederick Forsyth has written to only inside view of the conflict, having live in Biafra during the conflict.I was there and flew small aircraft against the Russian-sponsored jet fighters/bombers, eliminating this threat so relief flight could bring in food and medicine.At one point, 10,000 were dying from starvation per day.The Biafrans have never forgotten, never forgiven those who attempted genocide upon them.I attach a Nigerian government photo of me destroying a Mig-17 May 22, 1969 Port Harcourt, Biafra.
Hide
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry we couldn't load the review

Top reviews from the United States

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars I highly recommend this book as a starting point in understanding the ...
Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2016
Verified Purchase
I cannot claim to be a scholar of African history, but from the works I have read on the Biafran conflict I find this certainly one of the most readable. It has the benefit of being a contemporary account by a then journalist on the scene, and one who knew the chief protagonist, General Chukwuemeka Ojukwu. Studies compiled over the years largely bear out Forsyth's understanding of the conflict, its causes, and the outcome for Nigeria. This is a fraught subject for Nigeria and Africa in general. Unfortunately, for Nigeria, the One Nigeria policy of General Gowon, which General Ojukwu had supported, until well after the beginning of the pogroms of the Hausa-Fulani against the Igbo people residing in the North, led to the consolidation of a state that remains ethnically fractious. This remains true today for many states in Africa, and beyond. Some attribute the rise of Boko Haram to the unremitting of hostility of some in the Muslim North to the progressive entrepreneurial spirit shown by the Igbo and their Eastern ethnic allies encapsulated in what was the Republic of Biafra. That the Easterners were largely Christian converts merely reflects the benefits these people derived from an education in initially missionary schools, but that flourished as Easterners proceeded to establish schools themselves and promote the values of a Western system of education and progress. The spread of a system of Western education, and the skills and values among the Easterners led to their promotion within the colonial Nigerian state bureaucracy, business and intellectual structures. The pogroms of 1966-67 led to Ojukwu's acceptance the decision of the Eastern Region's Consultative Assembly to opt out of the One Nigeria program, and establish the Republic of Biafra. Emefiena Ezeani's "In Biafra Africa Died," and Chinua Achebe's "There Was a Country" both provide substantiation for Forsyth's contemporary view of the conflict. The former is most valuable for the documentation provided regarding the former colonial power's role in the conflict, and the latter a personal memoir of what it meant to be public intellectual in the Biafran republic.I was a young teen during this conflict, and distinctly remember the images of suffering among the Biafrans. To have observed the ongoing struggles within Africa over the ensuing decades between differing ethnicities, religious divisions, and the personal and public political divides is truly disheartening. Perhaps Achebe's and Ezeani's view on the ultimate outcome, the triumph of national and international political corruption and collusion rather than the development of competent national government is most telling. A lesson apparently yet unlearned. I highly recommend this book as a starting point in understanding the Nigerian civil war on the basis of it's being a contemporary account, and as largely substantiated in retrospect. The author is clearly sympathetic to the Biafran cause, but I remain so, too.
17 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
SnowWhite
4.0 out of 5 stars Personal Evaluation
Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2017
Verified Purchase
This is an important book about a subject that seems to have been largely forgotten. There are some harrowing descriptions of unbelievable human behaviour that need to be counted in the list of the genocide events of the 20th century. I have always been an admirer of Forsyth's work; he is a great story teller. But I can't help saying this was a difficult book to read. This book is a product of Forsyth the reporter - before he became a novelist, and one must make allowances for that. Additionally the Kindle version of this book contains no maps or pictorial information that will help the reader follow the events and the importance they have on the understanding the how and why of what happened..
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A very worthy read that could change your vision of human nature!
Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2015
Verified Purchase
I am very sad to say I was growing up when the years of this Biafra history were happening. I was also a resident in U.K. and actually living in the Constituency that Prime Minister Harold Wilson represented in Parliament before he became Prime Minister. That we as a country and particularly many who were concerned citizens at the time, were lied to so deeply and so often regarding this tragic time, has only come to my attention through this great book. The solid shame that must be heaped upon so many of those in our Government at the time, be they ministers, ambassadors, civil servants and the like, especially when they were in elected positions supposedly representing the people of Britain, is almost more than I can comprehend. I struggled initially to understand the logistics of this whole country as the map was only at the beginning of my Kindle downloaded book, so had no reference after I had started to read, of the area and the names of the towns. I would have wished for a paper copy of the map, which would have aided my reading. No matter, after several chapters in, I was able to figure it out and my horror began. I lived in Africa for a few years with my Engineer husband, so the pronunciation of many of the towns and cities was not too difficult, but there were so many names that were similar, no fault of the author I must hasten to add. The arrogance, the condescension and total disregard for human life recorded in this book is appalling and quite an eye opener. However, the shining light of human compassion once the true stories were reported from the likes of Frederick Forsyth and other correspondents, reporters and journalists, along with eye witnesses, could not be ignored. This gives me hope for the human race, albeit a small one. One could quote Man's inhumanity to Man at any point in this book and the one thing that truly upsets me is that we as humans, never learn. At least those who govern us never seem to at any rate. Politicians are a necessary evil, we do need people who will step forward to lead, but even today we are lead by the nose with lies and promises that there is no way they can keep. Several countries, the United States included, have a hand in brushing this tragedy under the rug. Mitigating circumstances for most included bad or untrustworthy information and reporting. I still have to finish this book, but my heart is heavy reading it. My grateful thanks to Frederick Forsyth for all his hard work putting the details together, to those Pilots, Red Cross Workers, Nuns, Priests, Volunteers from Church groups and Missionaries who risked their lives
constantly aiding these struggling people of Biafra, you are truly Giants amongst us. To the people of Biafra, I salute you and apologize on behalf of the whole human race for the atrocities that you were all subjected to. I hang my head that at the time I did not know, or do more to help.
8 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
R H
5.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating Eye Opener
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 14, 2023
Verified Purchase
What a brilliant book, I thoroughly enjoyed it’s enlightening content although most disturbing and very disappointing. How very badly the world and the UK in particular reacted to this crisis
Report
Madhu Menon
4.0 out of 5 stars Marvellous Book
Reviewed in India on June 12, 2019
Verified Purchase
Compelling book makes you uninterrupted reader!
Report
Monty Shnier
4.0 out of 5 stars Truth Cab Be Difficult To Accept
Reviewed in Australia on September 24, 2020
Verified Purchase
I found the history surrounding the virtual gynecide of the Biafrans upsetting but interesting.
Their fame as the original sand casters and sculptors drowned in the sea of political upheaval is most distressing.
Report
Ian Maravilla
5.0 out of 5 stars Forsyth aus seinem früheren Leben ...
Reviewed in Germany on October 12, 2015
Verified Purchase
Ein sehr gutes Buch und ein seltener Einblick in ein bislang unbekanntes Kapitel der modernen, afrikanischen Geschichte. Sehr gut und detailliert recherchiert und dargelegt.

Bis ich durch Zufall auf dieses Buch gestoßen bin, wusste ich nicht, das der Schriftsteller auch hautnah als Journalist dieser Tragödie beigewohnt hat. Der manchmal sehr moralisierende Ton des Buches dient aber eher nicht dem Pathos, sondern ist der schlichten Entsetzlichkeit der Ereignisse geschuldet.

Die zwei kleinen Mankos sind einmal die schlechte Textverfassung (in der Kindle Version; sehr viele Rechtsschreibefehler, also schlecht redigiert) sowie ein erstaunlicher Mangel an Kartenmaterial. Hier hätte man sich etwas mehr gewünscht.
One person found this helpful
 Report
Partick Potter
4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent account of a largely forgotten tragedy
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 23, 2023
Verified Purchase
An angry, insightful account of a shameful episode in Nigeria's (and other countries particularly Britain) history
One person found this helpful
 Report
Report an issue

Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report