Here he reveals the foundation of his insightful, precise reports: a deep, first-hand knowledge of the centuries of history of how the world's newest nation came to be, stuffed with insightful research, delightful details and searing lessons for those bright-eyed foreigners of yesterday and today so in love with their own idea of freedom that they feel they must impose it on others. 'Peter Martell arrived earlier and stayed longer than any of us who covered South Sudan's independence and the bloody catastrophe that followed. First Raise a Flag is a moving reflection on the meaning of nationalism, the power of hope and the endurance of the human spirit. Under his seasoned foreign correspondent's gaze, he weaves with passion and colour the lively history of the world's newest country. Peter Martell has spent over a decade reporting from palaces and battlefields, meeting those who made a country like no other: warlords and spies, missionaries and mercenaries, guerrillas and gunrunners, freedom fighters and war crime fugitives, Hollywood stars and ex-slaves. three years after independence, South Sudan was lowest ranked in the list of failed states. First Raise a Flag details one of the most dramatic failures in the history of international state-building. This is the story of an epic fight for freedom. Many have fought, but South Sudan did the impossible, and won.

It was an extraordinary, unprecedented experiment. Half a century later, with millions massacred in Africa's longest war, the continent's biggest country split in two. When South Sudan's war began, the Beatles were playing their first hits and reaching the moon was an astronaut's dream.

First Raise A Flag by Peter Martell