The Devil's Gardens
The Story of Landmines
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- £9.99
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- £9.99
Publisher Description
'The image I have is a kid on a country lane on a Saturday afternoon herding his family cattle, meaning no harm to anybody and putting one step wrong. It's one thing to die in combat, it's one thing to die defending land, but it's another thing to die tending cattle on a Saturday afternoon and we want a world where that doesn't happen' - Michael Ignatieff
During the twentieth century a landmine plague raged across the globe. It began on the battlefields of two world wars, it gathered momentum in Korea and Vietnam and then spread like wildfire throughout the developing world.
The Devil's Gardens is the definitive story of the landmine. It is the story of the development and proliferation of a weapon of terror. It is also the story of suffering and devastation, and a worldwide crusade to put an end to the curse of landmines forever. The issues surrounding landmines and their continued use are controversial. Drawing on a wide range of distinguished interviewees and the authors' first-hand experiences in severely mine-affected countries, The Devil's Gardens look at all sides of the landmine story.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Based on a television series of the same name produced and directed by the authors, this book provides a clear account of the invention and proliferation of landmines, "a global humanitarian crisis." Secondary-source based accounts of the comprehensive deployment of mines in the two world wars leads into discussions of Korea and Vietnam, where a wealth of primary source material kicks in on the continuing horrors of mined fields in Southeast Asia. Chapters on Africa, the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan are no less disturbing, showing how regional conflicts can escalate severely and interminably once mines are involved. Mines can also be used as a psychological and economic weapon in Mozambique, people were told there were mines where there really were none. While the book includes b&w photos of mine types and victims, none are graphic, as the myriad injuries and deaths caused by mines often to children have been well-documented elsewhere. The economics of de-mining are explained clearly, as is the necessity of global action, undertaken by such groups as Adopt-a-Minefield, which counts Sir Paul McCartney among its members. As he notes in his back-cover blurb: "It is not brave to leave mines when war is over and I want to see the world rid of these terrible weapons." While the book does not linger over the narratives of individual victims, it may help inspire the same feeling in others.
