Despite these problems, Gerald Hanley writes with great affection for the local clans, an affection that is untainted by sentimentality. The author gives such a vivid description of their love of fighting, and their contempt for death, that the reader cannot fail to understand why it is nearly impossible to stop the bloodshed in modern Kalashnikov-filled, Somalia. An extraordinary book. He gets under the skin of black Africa as no other English writer has done since his hero Sir Richard Burton went to see the King of Dahomey. His strength of language and emotional input into this narrative, as well as his understanding of the violent Somali nature, make it one of the most illuminating books ever written on Africa.
Warriors is made of the literary stuff that endures.
Dervla Murphy, The Irish Times Hanley is a born writer. Travel writing at its best, observational writing at its most acute.