Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0552773328, Paperback)

The latest hard-hitting investigative book from the best-selling author of Heroes, Hidden Voices and A Secret Country — fully updated for the paperback edition.

John Pilger here examines five countries, each of which has experienced a long struggle for freedom, where the people, having shed blood and dreams, are still waiting. Afghanistan, Iraq and South Africa had the promise of hope, even an “official” freedom, but these divided societies do not enjoy real freedom. In Palestine, the cycle of violence continues with no resolution in sight. And the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean is a microcosm of the ruthlessness of great powers. Sold by the British to the American military in the 1960s, the island’s indigenous population — descended from slaves forcibly removed to the slums of Port Louis in Mauritius — continues to fight for a return to their homeland. The island remains the United States’s third biggest military base — a base from which the Americans are able to launch attacks against the Middle East.

Once again John Pilger gives voice to people living through momentous times and, in gripping detail, reveals the lives behind the headlines.