Baraka Books has an eclectic month ahead with the launch of two novels and an important nonfiction book. All three books will be immediately available in all formats.

Now Available: Slouching Towards Sirte: NATO’s War on Libya and Africa by Maximilian Forte. Professor of anthropology at Concordia University, Max Forte undoes every argument justifying that 2011 war and proves that far from being a “high watermark” as proclaimed by some, NATO’s war left death, destruction and prolonged civil strife and was part of generalized militarization of US relations with Africa.

“the definitive treatment of NATO’s war on Libya…” Stephen Gowans, What’s Left

“Desperate to finally be seen as the liberators of Arabs, rescuing poor victims with the finest of American exports (human rights), some would understandably feel compelled to exploit the suffering of others (residents fleeing Sirte) and turn that into something worthy of celebration. This is an example of the abduction process at the centre of Western, liberal humanitarianism: it can only function by first directly or indirectly creating the suffering of others, and by then seeing every hand as an outstretched hand, pleading or welcoming. We see (or imagine) helpless others, gobbling morsels of food that we hand them, brown mouths chugging down water from our plastic bottles, and we feel accomplished. Our moral might is reaffirmed by the physical plight of others. Clearly, the humanitarian relation is not a relation between equals. We are not our “brothers’ keepers” then, but rather we are more like animal keepers. Bombing for us is really just an animal management technology, and our relationship to the world remains a zoological one.”

Maximilian Forte, Associate Professor of Anthropology at Montreal’s Concordia University, is a founding member of Anthropologists for Justice and Peace. His focus is political anthropology including “the new imperialism.”

Save $ by pre-ordering SLOUCHING…

Now Available:  The Adventures of Radisson 1, Hell Never Burns, the YA historical thriller and Governor General’s Award winner  by Martin Fournier (translated by Peter McCambridge). The original French book won the 2012 GG for Children’s Literature.

“Ganaha, the kindly Iroquois who was in a way his personal protector, saw to it that he came to no harm. Though he believed his odds of survival to be slim indeed, hope again began to stir in his heart. On the morning of the fourth day, Ganaha painted half of Radisson’s face red and the other half black. Then, his captors clambered back into their canoes and paddled south, along a broad river. His fate remained in the balance: black for death, red for life.”

Martin Fournier of Quebec City is both a historian and a talented writer who has combined these skills to produce a wonderful story about the most famous explorer, fur trader and coureur des bois in North American history. Peter McCambridge, also of Quebec City, has once again brought award-winning fiction to life in English.

Nov. 25: Washika, A Novel by Robert A. Poirier. This story of 20 testosterone-drenched high school students living and working at a bush camp in Northern Quebec in the 60s revives an era and inspires new life into a wild and beautiful place.

“He stared at the sand or ashes and brittle, black branches as they walked. The straps made Henri’s shoulders ache but the tank did not leak. He had that at least. And there was Lise. This fire could not last forever. Things would eventually calm down and they would be at Washika again. The first Sunday he was back, he would go to see her. Walking that way in the black nothingness of the island, he remembered her clearly and nothing interrupted his thoughts of her, those green eyes. How they spoke to him. He recalled how he had stared into her eyes for as long as he could manage it while he caressed her with the flat of his hands.”

Bob Poirier lives in the log cabin he made on his land near Maniwaki, Quebec. He studies Algonquin, has embraced Algonquin spiritual beliefs, and treats and cares for all species of fauna at his wild animal rehabilitation centre.