Winner of the Noma Award for Publishing in Africa 1998. The jury cited the book as "a pioneering text, the most important book to have appeared to date about the struggle for African national liberation in the Sudan. It is a first-class inside story of the history of the civil war of the past fifteen years, told with passion and commitment. Its stature, ringing significance and contribution to knowledge make it a powerful and unique book." The process of liberation in south Sudan has been rocky since 1955. Successive governments in Khartoum have broken promises and agreements relating to governance of the south, and the northern establishment has manipulated the situation to perpetuate northern hegemony, and to speed up the process of Islamisation in the south. This study from an activist in the politics of liberation in the south addresses relevant issues such as the objectives of the armed struggle, and the reasons for so long a struggle; the contradictions of the political leaders in the south; the repercussions of the Nasir coup of 1991, and the prospects for the SPLM/A struggle.