I feel close to this book both because of the searing writing and also because my late friend Charles bought land that encompassed Jimmy’s mountain and he felt as close to the writing and invocation as I did. Keneally is a masterful writer and he has many other books that I could recommend, most memorably Toward Asmara. In this book four Westerners travel to Eritrea and experience the drought and despair in its capital, Asmara. As they witness the devastation and futility of war coupled with the Eritreans’ courage and humanity they themselves change as they are challenged in ways unexpected and unthinkable.