A personal account of the Eritrea-Ethiopia war (1998-2000) by Richard Reid

Drawing from his own experience of living and working in Eritrea during the war, Shallow Graves: A Memoir of the Ethiopia-Eritrea War by Richard Reid, Professor of African History at the University of Oxford, is a personal account of the war between Eritrea and Ethiopia, fought between May 1998 and June 2000, and the periods immediately preceding and following the conflict. The book traces shifting local perceptions of time, the nation and the region, beginning in the mid-1990s and concluding with the peace agreement signed between the two governments in 2018.  As well as providing first-hand reportage and analysis, Reid problematises the role of the historian—and specifically the foreign historian—as the supposedly impartial observer of events.

Shallow Graves is published is published by Hurst and is also available as an eBook, link to publisher's website.

Richard Reid will be talking about The Ethics of Writing Modern War alongside Kim Wagner (Queen Mary) and Priya Atwal (KCL) at an online event on 21 October, 5pm as part of the History of War seminar programme. Booking required, contact briony.truscott@history.ox.ac.uk .