This is a must-read for anyone interested in Madagascar – and equally a must-read for anyone who doesn’t even know they are interested. For everyone will find much of interest in this excellently written, well-researched, accessible and ultimately tragic account of a potentially successful nation. As this book demonstrates, Madagascar is a fascinating island, currently in dire straits, with a chequered past and an uncertain future. Author Nathaniel Adams spent many months on the island, travelling around, meeting and talking to as many people as possible, from government officials to regular inhabitants - and all those in between. Rich in natural resources Madagascar is one of the world's poorest nations due to government mismanagement and endemic corruption. The book is a balanced account and doesn’t seek to sensationalise anything, but is a hard-hitting exploration of Madagascar’s past, present and possible future. I’m surprised there so few reviews (Feb 2023) as it deserves a wide readership.

Did not get a chance to read...and I am sure it is expiring shortly...my apologies for not being able to provide feedback.

'The Tragedy of Madagascar: An Island Nation Confronts the 21st Century' by Nathaniel Adams offers an unparalleled and thrillingly bold examination of the island's past, present, and future.

Benefiting from many years living in real Madagascar, not the fictional jungle from the cartoon, reading extensively on the subjects of climate change and overpopulation, and conducting interviews with locals, Nathaniel Adams has put together brutally honest research on the roots of Madagascar's problems. Madagascar isn't a fully developed democracy despite 80 years of independence: political unrest, exploding from time to time into political coups, and corruption suppress the country's development. It hasn't chosen a side economically, allying itself with other African countries, Arabian countries around the Persian Gulf, or other islands of the Indian Ocean. Madagascar is considered one of the poorest countries in the world, with 80% of the population living in extreme poverty.

I strongly recommend 'The Tragedy of Madagascar' for its thoroughness. It isn't a glossy tourist guide; it's riddled with statistical data. While the book's first chapters focus on Madagascar's past, other chapters explore climate change's economic and political consequences. Moreover, the author examines overpopulation, an often overlooked future problem. Combined with a poverty trap, these two factors eat out all the progress Madagascar (generally, all of sub-Saharan Africa) could achieve.

The book ended in the first months of the pandemic when Andry Rajoelina proclaimed Madagascar had found a herbal cure for Covid-19. Seeing constantly World Food Program's pleas for help for malnourished children, I may assume that things haven't changed in the last two years.

I received an advanced review copy through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.