They Poured Fire on Us from the Sky

"Tender and lyrical...one of the most riveting stories ever told of African childhoods and a stirring tale of courage. Anyone interested in Africa, its children or the human will to survive should read this book. This beautifully told volume will remain on my desk for years to come.”

"A moving, beautifully written account, by turns raw and tender”

"[The authors'] accounts, written first in lesson books and then on computer have been skillfully put together in a narrative, each boy carrying both" history and that of their joint flight and reunion forward. The result is both fascinating and immediate, not least because of the guilelessness of the language and the particularly African use of metaphor and imagery. They Poured Fire conjures up a world of marabou storks, acacia trees, termite mounds taller than men, scorpions and snakes that move in the dark, a world governed by traditions, rituals, seasons, weather, and obligations.”

"Their words speak for those who no longer have a voice. Their story will take the reader on a trip not soon forgotten of spirits unwilling to be broken.”

"Their serious tone, broken by the occasional wry smile, memorializes their parents, the land and animals that wove the tapestry of their early childhoods. One reviewer called the book deceptively understated.' But the soft plainness of the young writers' voices, combined with their moral insight, throws the surreal danger and strife into sharp relief.”

"[They Poured Fire] is an amazing account of boys who managed to survive a terrifying ordeal. There's a kind of haunting beauty to their story. After reading this book, readers may feel like they've been on an adventure or in hell, depending on your point of view. Whatever the case, this book is an eye-opener.”

"[L]ovely and unusual. [V]ital stories that can help readers understand events in Sudan on a human level. But They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky is no mere historical document; it is a wise and sophisticated examination of the arbitrary cruelties and joys of being alive."

"[The] book is at once an important addition to the contemporary dialog on world affairs and a surprisingly lyrical account of coming of age under adverse conditions. These folkloric memories replete with lions and circumcision rituals describe a world centuries removed from the high-tech industrialization of Western society. But they years of war also have bestowed wisdom, and simple observations of childhood are seen now through different eyes.” 

"[The book] represent[s] genuine, heartfelt examples of what war does to young people and how they may adjust to life outside the country of their birth, especially the social and intellectual problems they experience.”

"In a harrowing account of the war, three young refugees in California remember how they were driven from their homes in Southern Sudan in the ethnic and religious conflicts that have left two million dead. They tell their stories quietly with the help of their mentor, coauthor Judy Bernstein, in clear, interwoven, narratives that put a personal face on statistics.”

"Well written, often poetic essays...this collection is moving in its descriptions of unbelievable courage.”