What is One Book Yuma?

A joint literacy effort to encourage people to read and contemplate the same book, and come together to discuss it in a variety of settings. Be part of a community reading project that touches on one of the most important issues of our part of the country. What some are calling the first genocide of the 21st Century.




About the Book

Benjamin, Alepho, and Benson were raised among the Dinka tribe of Sudan. Theirs was an insulated, close-knit world of grass-roofed cottages, cattle herders, and tribal councils. The lions and pythons that prowled beyond the village fences were the greatest threat they knew.

All that changed the night the government-armed Murahiliin began attacking their villages. All three boys were forced to flee their villages within a 2-year period. Between 1987 and 1989, thousands of other young Sudanese boys did likewise, joining this stream of child refugees that became known as the Lost Boys. Their journey would take them over one thousand miles across a war-ravaged country, through landmine-sown paths, crocodile-infested waters, and grotesque extremes of hunger, thirst, and disease. The refugee camps they eventually filtered through offered little respite from the brutality they were fleeing.

In They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky, Benson, Alepho, and Benjamin, by turn, recount their experiences along this unthinkable journey. This is a captivating memoir of Sudan and a powerful portrait of war as seen through the eyes of children. And it is, in the end, an inspiring and unforgettable tale of three young boys who, cast against all elements, had the will, the tenacity, and the very good luck to survive.


ALSO
Bulk discounts available on They Poured Fire for sets of 30 or more. Contact Lisa Kaufman at Perseus Books at (617) 921-8270 or Lisa.Kaufman@perseusbooks.com. Discounts up to 50% or $6.47 per book. Free ground shipping available.