The Mayor of Mogadishu

Starred review from October 1, 2016
A fluid, sympathetic journalistic foray into the tumultuous history of Somalia as lived by an intriguing impresario and activist.Riven over the decades by clan divisions, famine, military coups, dictatorship, and terror by the jihadi group Al-Shabaab, Somalia has seen much of its population displaced and traumatized and only now returning to some peace and stability. In his engaging biography of one unlikely local hero, Mohamud Tarzan Nur, Johannesburg-based journalist Harding follows the fortunes of one family of exiles who have returned to the war-scarred capital of Mogadishu to stick it out and reclaim their city from a horrible legacy of civil war. With elegant descriptions, Harding brings this East African coastal country to vivid life, depicting a sun-drenched pearl of the Indian Ocean made up of tall, slender nomads whom he found impossibly, jaw-droppingly resilient in the face of decades of hardship and violence. The author hones in on Nur, who was born to a poor mother, fatherless, raised in an orphanage, found some outlet as a youth in basketball, and was educated largely by his wits. His outspokenness and the Somalian war with Ethiopia over the neighboring Ogaden region prompted him first to seek employment in Saudi Arabia. His bride, Shamis, followed for love, and the couple had six children, whom Shamis mostly raised by herself after seeking asylum in London without her husband. The family eventually returned to their homeland in 2010 when the Al-Shabaab terrorist group finally left the city. Courageouslyor foolishly, as Harding suggestsNur accepted the dangerous job of mayor and proceeded to try to infuse the destroyed city with his jaunty brand of optimism. While corruption still prevails, Harding reveals enormous goodwill in the beleaguered people who have returned to rebuild their beloved country. A beautifully rendered narrative and characterization portrays the soul of a country few Westerners truly understand.

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November 15, 2016
BBC foreign correspondent Harding has been covering Somalia for almost two decades, and here he takes a complex look at one of Somalia's most significant, and polarizing, political figures, Mohamud Tarzan Nur. Drawing from interviews with Tarzan's family members, schoolmates, professional allies, and rivals as well as the man himself, Harding paints a picture of a driven, passionate man who spent many of his early years in an orphanage before wedding a beautiful young woman whose aunt disapproved of the union. As the clashes between Somalian clans grew more violent and Ethiopian incursions increased, Tarzan sought work outside of Somalia before moving his growing family to London. But like so many Somalians Harding spoke with, Tarzan longed for home, and he eventually returned to a Mogadishu ravaged by infighting and the Islamist group Al Shabab. As mayor, Tarzan attempted to lift the spirits and fortunes of the city while facing death threats and danger at every turn. An engrossing must-read for anyone who wants to understand the ongoing turmoil in Somalia and its origins.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)