Sudan today, reference work, surveying Sudan of the early 1970s

Ministry of Information and Culture Khartoum

Published by University Press of Africa, Khartoum, hardcover, illustrated

This handbook traces the development of the Sudan from prehistorie times to the present day. It is aimed primarily at those who want to know more about Africa's largest country. There are chapters of special interest to the investor and the tourist. A major section covers military history, for the Sudanese have always been a fighting people, whether as rulers of Egypt in the far distant past, or as heroic, lightly-armed warriors containing the Italian advance from Eritrea in World War II.

Islam, agriculture, communications, economics and development are also major themes of this book, which attempts to present a balanced and comprehensive picture of what has been and what is being done to tackle the unique problems of a country whose peoples and traditions are as varied as the landscapes.

The progress which has been made since Independence in 1955 is a dramatic story. Roads have been built, dams constructed, schools and hospitals opened, large-scale agricultural development programmes implemented. Above all, the development of a vast two million acre cotton scheme on the clay plains of the Gezira is a success story without parallel in Africa.

Though the country remains largely pastoral, industry, too, has seized a
firm foothold and other forms of economic development have made rapid progress since Independence encouraged a flow of investment capita' from outside.
To the world outside her boundaries, the Sudan is remembered for the brief periods in the past when she was the focus of world attention; for General Gordon and the Mandi and, at the turn of this century, for the struggle between the Khalifa and Lord Kitchener.
The struggle to bring education and prosperity to the peoples of the Sudan is as energetic as those early battles, but it is being fought with wisdom, tractors and seed instead of with swords.

The full statistical appendix section will be of special value to the economist and there is a bibliography and index.