Bibliography: books and writing on Somalis and Somalia
4,273 works. Books, reports, theses and other written works about Somalis and Somalia, or written in Somali, A to Z by title, with author, year, language and a link to the catalogue record.
Buugaagta Soomaalida
Books about Somalis and Somalia
Books about Somali history, politics, poetry, language, society, money, migration and travel, and books for children and learners. Each page gives the author, the year and what the book covers, with sources.
Sections
History
The Invention of Somalia (1995), edited by Ali Jimale Ahmed: essays that question the standard story
Ali Jimale Ahmed's edited volume The Invention of Somalia (1995): who edited it, its main essays, its argument about the 'one nation' picture, and how it has been read.
The Shaping of Somali Society (1982) by Lee V. Cassanelli: Somali history from 1600 to 1900
Lee V. Cassanelli's The Shaping of Somali Society (1982): its fieldwork and sources, its chapters on the Ajuran, Islam and trade, and how historians reviewed it.
We Do Not Have Borders (2017) by Keren Weitzberg: Somalis and belonging in Kenya
Keren Weitzberg's We Do Not Have Borders (2017): its question about Somali belonging in Kenya, its sources, its argument about colonial and postcolonial categories, and how reviewers received it.
Africa's First Democrats (2016) by Abdi Ismail Samatar: Aden Abdulle Osman and Abdirizak Haji Hussein
Abdi Ismail Samatar's Africa's First Democrats (2016): its chapters on Aden Abdulle Osman, Abdirizak Haji Hussein, the Somali Youth League and the civilian republic, its argument about leadership, and its mixed reception.
Understanding Somalia and Somaliland (2008) by I. M. Lewis: a short introduction to culture, history and society
I. M. Lewis's Understanding Somalia and Somaliland (2008): its three parts on culture, history and society, its chapters on Somaliland and Puntland, and how reviewers received it.
Oral Poetry and Somali Nationalism (1982) by Said S. Samatar: the poetry of Sayid Mohamed Abdullah Hassan
Said S. Samatar's Oral Poetry and Somali Nationalism (1982): its chapters on Somali oratory and verse, its account of the Sayid's poetry in the Dervish war, its chapter on the myths around him, and its place in Somali studies.
Politics, state and conflict
Black Hawk Down (1999) by Mark Bowden: the book on the 1993 battle of Mogadishu
Mark Bowden's Black Hawk Down (1999): how it was researched, what it covers about the 1993 battle in Mogadishu, its reception and the 2001 film.
Getting Somalia Wrong? (2012) by Mary Harper: faith, war and hope in a shattered state
Mary Harper's Getting Somalia Wrong? (2012): its argument about the 'failed state' label, business and telecoms without a state, and how reviewers responded.
Becoming Somaliland (2008) by Mark Bradbury: how Somaliland built a state after 1991
Mark Bradbury's Becoming Somaliland (2008): what it covers from Somali history to Somaliland's peace conferences, elections and recognition, and how reviewers read it.
The Pirates of Somalia (2011) by Jay Bahadur: inside the pirate world of Puntland
Jay Bahadur's The Pirates of Somalia (2011): months in Puntland with pirates and the pirate leader Boyah, what he found in Eyl, and how reviewers responded.
Inside Al-Shabaab (2018) by Harun Maruf and Dan Joseph: the history of the movement
Harun Maruf and Dan Joseph's Inside Al-Shabaab (2018): who wrote it, its sources, what it covers from 2006 on, and what academic reviewers said.
Al-Shabaab in Somalia (2013) by Stig Jarle Hansen: history and ideology, 2005 to 2012
Stig Jarle Hansen's Al-Shabaab in Somalia (2013): its argument that the group is a hybrid of nationalism and jihadism, its structure, and how reviewers received it.
The World's Most Dangerous Place (2013) by James Fergusson: reporting from Somalia and its diaspora
James Fergusson's The World's Most Dangerous Place (2013): where he reported, what the book covers, its Orwell Prize shortlisting, and the debate over its title.
Me Against My Brother (2000) by Scott Peterson: a reporter in Somalia, Sudan and Rwanda
Scott Peterson's Me Against My Brother (2000): his reporting from Somalia during the UN intervention, the 12 July 1993 raid he witnessed, the book's sections on Sudan and Rwanda, and its reviews.
Clan Cleansing in Somalia (2013) by Lidwien Kapteijns: the violence of 1991 and its legacy
Lidwien Kapteijns's Clan Cleansing in Somalia (2013): its sources in poetry and survivor accounts, its argument about the violence of 1991, its call for reconciliation, and the debate it caused.
Understanding the Somalia Conflagration (2010) by Afyare Abdi Elmi: identity, political Islam and peacebuilding
Afyare Abdi Elmi's Understanding the Somalia Conflagration (2010): its arguments on clan identity, political Islam, federalism and foreign policy, its peacebuilding proposals, and its reviews.
Between Somaliland and Puntland (2015) by Markus Virgil Hoehne: the contested borderlands of Sool, Sanaag and Cayn
Markus Virgil Hoehne's Between Somaliland and Puntland (2015): its fieldwork, its chapters on the Sool, Sanaag and Cayn borderlands from 2002 to 2014, the author's stated perspective, and where to read it free.
Captured at Sea (2019) by Jatin Dua: piracy and protection in the Indian Ocean
Jatin Dua's Captured at Sea (2019): its fieldwork, its chapters on piracy, counter-piracy, ransom and captivity, the prizes it won and how reviewers read it.
Piracy in Somalia (2019) by Awet Tewelde Weldemichael: illegal fishing, ransom and counter-piracy
Awet Tewelde Weldemichael's Piracy in Somalia (2019): its chapters, its argument that illegal fishing came before state collapse as a cause, its findings on ransom money and al-Shabaab, and how it was reviewed.
The Struggle for Land in Southern Somalia (1996), edited by Catherine Besteman and Lee Cassanelli: the war behind the war
The Struggle for Land in Southern Somalia (1996), edited by Besteman and Cassanelli: its argument about land and resources as causes of the civil war, its local case studies of the farming south, and how it was received.
Poetry, novels and stories
From a Crooked Rib (1970): Nuruddin Farah's first novel
Nuruddin Farah's From a Crooked Rib (1970): the story of Ebla, how it was written, the 1972 ban, how critics read it and its Somali translation Feedh Qalloocan.
The Fortune Men (2021) by Nadifa Mohamed: the story of Mahmood Mattan
Nadifa Mohamed's The Fortune Men (2021): the true story of Mahmood Mattan, hanged in Cardiff in 1952 and cleared in 1998; Booker shortlist and reviews.
Black Mamba Boy (2010) by Nadifa Mohamed: a Somali boy's journey, 1935 to 1947
Nadifa Mohamed's Black Mamba Boy (2010): Jama's journey from Aden to Wales, based on her father's life, the title's story, and its prizes.
Maps (1986) by Nuruddin Farah: a novel of the Ogaden war
Nuruddin Farah's Maps (1986): Askar, Misra and the Ogaden war, its unusual narrative voice, the Blood in the Sun trilogy and how critics have read it.
The Orchard of Lost Souls (2013) by Nadifa Mohamed: three women in Hargeysa, 1987
Nadifa Mohamed's The Orchard of Lost Souls (2013): Deqo, Kawsar and Filsan in Hargeysa in 1987 to 1988, its setting, and how reviewers received it.
Sweet and Sour Milk (1979) by Nuruddin Farah: a novel of Mogadishu under dictatorship
Nuruddin Farah's Sweet and Sour Milk (1979): its story of twin brothers in 1970s Mogadishu, its place in his dictatorship trilogy, its award and where to read it.
Links (2003) by Nuruddin Farah: a return to Mogadishu in the years of conflict
Nuruddin Farah's Links (2003): its story of a return to Mogadishu in the 1990s, the Dante quotations that frame it, its trilogy, and how reviewers received it.
Madre piccola (2007) by Ubah Cristina Ali Farah: Little Mother, a novel of the Somali diaspora in Italy
Ubah Cristina Ali Farah's Madre piccola (2007), in English Little Mother (2011): its three narrators, the cousins Domenica Axad and Barni, its themes of exile and identity, and how reviewers read it.
Adua (2015) by Igiaba Scego: a father, a daughter and Italy's colonial past
Igiaba Scego's novel Adua (2015): its three voices, Adua's life in Rome since the 1970s, her father Zoppe's past under Italian fascism, and how reviewers read it.
Secrets (1998) by Nuruddin Farah: a family mystery on the eve of the civil war
Nuruddin Farah's Secrets (1998): its story of Kalaman, Sholoongo and his family on the eve of the war, its narrators, its trilogy and how reviewers read it.
Gifts (1992) by Nuruddin Farah: a Mogadishu nurse, a foundling and the politics of aid
Nuruddin Farah's Gifts (1992): its story of Duniya and Bosaaso, the theme of foreign aid, its place in the Blood in the Sun trilogy, its awards and reviews.
Aqoondarro Waa U Nacab Jacayl (1974) by Faarax M. J. Cawl: Ignorance is the Enemy of Love
Faarax M. J. Cawl's Aqoondarro Waa U Nacab Jacayl (1974): the love story of Calimaax and Cawrala, its place as an early Somali-language novel, its English translation and its author.
Shabeelnaagood by Hassan Sheikh Mumin: Leopard Among the Women, a Somali play
Hassan Sheikh Mumin's play Shabeelnaagood (Leopard Among the Women): its story and themes, the 1974 Oxford edition translated by B. W. Andrzejewski, and its author.
Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head (2022) by Warsan Shire: poems
Warsan Shire's poetry collection Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head (2022): its poems and themes, its prizes and reviews, and its author's earlier work.
A Naked Needle (1976) by Nuruddin Farah: one day in revolutionary Mogadishu
Nuruddin Farah's A Naked Needle (1976): how it was written and published, its story of Koschin's day in Mogadishu, its themes, how critics read it, and why it kept its author abroad for twenty years.
Le pays sans ombre (1994) by Abdourahman Waberi: The Land Without Shadows
Abdourahman Waberi's Le pays sans ombre (1994): its seventeen stories of Djibouti, their sources in Somali oral tradition, the 2005 English translation and how readers have described it.
Language and dictionaries
Politics, Language, and Thought (1977) by David Laitin: the Somali script and how language shapes politics
David Laitin's Politics, Language, and Thought (1977): its account of the Somali script question before 1972, its experiments with bilingual students, where it came from and how it has been used since.
Society, faith and culture
Unraveling Somalia (1999) by Catherine Besteman: race, class and the Jubba valley
Catherine Besteman's Unraveling Somalia (1999): her fieldwork in the Jubba valley, her argument about race and class beyond clan, the Gosha farmers, and how reviewers read it.
A Pastoral Democracy (1961) by I. M. Lewis: politics among the northern Somali
I. M. Lewis's A Pastoral Democracy (1961): his fieldwork in British Somaliland, the diya-paying group and lineage politics, its 1998 reissue, and how it shaped later writing about Somalis.
Saints and Somalis (1998) by I. M. Lewis: popular Islam in a clan-based society
I. M. Lewis's Saints and Somalis (1998): its essays on Somali saints, Sufi orders and spirit possession, its argument about the cult of saints, and where to read it.
Women's Voices in a Man's World (1999) by Lidwien Kapteijns: women in northern Somali oral literature
Lidwien Kapteijns's Women's Voices in a Man's World (1999): its study of women's voices in northern Somali poetry and song from 1899 to 1980, its two parts and its reviews.
Renewers of the Age (2008) by Scott S. Reese: Sufi scholars of the Benaadir coast
Scott S. Reese's Renewers of the Age (2008): its Arabic sources on the Benaadir ulama, its six chapters on Sufi leadership, crisis and the Qadiriyya, and Lidwien Kapteijns's review.
Culture and Customs of Somalia (2001) by Mohamed Diriye Abdullahi: a guide to Somali daily life
Mohamed Diriye Abdullahi's Culture and Customs of Somalia (2001): who wrote it, what each chapter covers, from faith and poetry to food, dress, camels and music, and how it was reviewed.
Money, work and development
Somalia: Economy Without State (2003) by Peter D. Little: trade and livestock after 1991
Peter D. Little's Somalia: Economy Without State (2003): its research in the Lower Jubba borderlands, its chapters on livestock, trade and money, its argument and its reviews.
Migration, diaspora and memoir
City of Thorns (2016) by Ben Rawlence: nine lives in the Dadaab camps
Ben Rawlence's City of Thorns (2016) on the Dadaab camps in Kenya: the nine Somali lives it follows, its main argument and how reviewers received it.
Desert Flower (1998) by Waris Dirie: from nomad girl to model and campaigner
Waris Dirie's Desert Flower (1998): her nomad childhood, escape, modelling career and campaign against FGM; its publication, translations and the 2009 film.
Infidel (2006) by Ayaan Hirsi Ali: the memoir, its story and its reception
Ayaan Hirsi Ali's memoir Infidel (Mijn Vrijheid, 2006): what it covers from Somalia to the Dutch parliament, sales, praise, criticism and later books.
Keeping Hope Alive (2013) by Hawa Abdi: a doctor's memoir of the war years
Hawa Abdi's memoir Keeping Hope Alive (2013): her training, the clinic and camp on her family's land, the attack of 2010, and how reviewers received it.
A House in the Sky (2013) by Amanda Lindhout and Sara Corbett: a memoir of captivity in Somalia
Amanda Lindhout and Sara Corbett's A House in the Sky (2013): the 2008-2009 kidnapping it describes, its reception and the debate around it, and where to read it.
This Is What America Looks Like (2020) by Ilhan Omar: from refugee to Congress
Ilhan Omar's memoir This Is What America Looks Like (2020): her childhood in Mogadishu, the refugee years, life in the US and politics, and how reviewers from different sides received it.
A Man of Good Hope (2015) by Jonny Steinberg: one Somali refugee's journey to South Africa
Jonny Steinberg's A Man of Good Hope (2015): Asad Abdullahi's journey from Mogadishu through Kenya and Ethiopia to South Africa, how the book was made, and how reviewers received it.
The Girl with Three Legs (2011) by Soraya Miré: a memoir against female genital cutting
Soraya Miré's memoir The Girl with Three Legs (2011): her childhood in Somalia, female genital cutting, her journey abroad and the film Fire Eyes, and how reviewers received it.
Yesterday, Tomorrow (2000) by Nuruddin Farah: voices from the Somali diaspora
Nuruddin Farah's Yesterday, Tomorrow (2000): his interviews with Somali refugees in Africa and Europe, the questions it asks about exile and identity, and how it was read.
Transnational Nomads (2006) by Cindy Horst: how Somalis cope with life in the Dadaab camps
Cindy Horst's Transnational Nomads (2006): her fieldwork in Dadaab, its chapters on the nomadic heritage, camp life, remittances and buufis, and how it was received.
My Role in the Foundation of the Somali Nation-State (2017): the memoir of Abdirizak Haji Hussein
Abdirizak Haji Hussein's political memoir (2017): what its chapters cover from childhood to exile, how it was edited and published after his death, and how it sits beside other accounts of the 1960s.
Elusive Jannah (2015) by Cawo M. Abdi: Somalis in Dubai, South Africa and the United States
Cawo M. Abdi's Elusive Jannah (2015): its three field sites, what each chapter finds about Somali life in the Emirates, South Africa and the United States, and how reviewers read it.
Somali, Muslim, British (2017) by Giulia Liberatore: Somali women in London
Giulia Liberatore's Somali, Muslim, British (2017): her London fieldwork, its chapters on first- and second-generation Somali women, faith, dress and culture, and how it was reviewed.
America Made Me a Black Man (2022) by Boyah J. Farah: a Somali refugee's memoir of race in the United States
Boyah J. Farah's America Made Me a Black Man (2022): his journey from Somalia through Kenya to Boston, what the memoir describes about race in America, and its very mixed reviews.
Lontano da Mogadiscio (1994) by Shirin Ramzanali Fazel: Far from Mogadishu
Shirin Ramzanali Fazel's Lontano da Mogadiscio (1994): who wrote it, what it recalls about Mogadishu and Italy, its later bilingual and English editions, and its place in Italian postcolonial writing.
Mobile Urbanity (2019), edited by Neil Carrier and Tabea Scharrer: Somalis in the cities of East Africa
Mobile Urbanity (2019), edited by Neil Carrier and Tabea Scharrer: its ten chapters on Somalis in Nairobi, Kenyan towns, Johannesburg and Kampala, how it was reviewed, and where to read it free.
Travellers' and colonial accounts
The Prophet's Camel Bell (1963) by Margaret Laurence: a Canadian writer in British Somaliland
Margaret Laurence's The Prophet's Camel Bell (1963): her stay in British Somaliland in 1951 and 1952, what the memoir covers, how it answers Richard Burton, and how critics have read it since.
Warriors (1971) by Gerald Hanley: a British officer among Somali herders in the Second World War
Gerald Hanley's Warriors (1971): his wartime posting in the Somali interior, what the memoir describes, its reissue by Eland, and how reviewers have read it.
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