Adams’s general introduction to a country that remains largely ignored by English-language scholars and journalists is welcome. The first half of the book covers the country’s political history, with a focus on the decades-long conflicts between the three heavyweights of postcolonial Malagasy politics: Didier Ratsiraka (president from 1975 to 1993 and 1997 to 2002), Marc Ravalomanana (president from 2002 to 2009), and Andry Rajoelina (president from 2009 to 2014 and currently in power since 2019). As Adams makes clear, electoral politics in the country have been dominated by intra-elite personal conflicts and successive governments have been self-serving and ineffective. The book improves once Adams turns his gaze to the country’s long unaddressed economic and social problems. An excellent final chapter focuses on the southern half of the island, which faces a looming environmental disaster thanks to a combination of global warming and the central government’s persistent neglect. ~ Nicolas van de Walle - Foreign Affairs Magazine, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/tragedy-madagascar-island-nation-confronts-twenty-first-century

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. 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. ~ Mandy Jenkinson (Reviewer) , NetGalley

Madagascar is the world’s fifth-largest island, situated in the Indian Ocean off the coast of southern Africa. Despite considerable natural resources, its population of about 28 million has one of the world’s highest poverty rates. Indeed, as we quickly learn, development prospects in Madagascar continue to be hampered by the country’s low growth potential and its exposure to frequent, deep, and persistent crises. Growth averaged about 3.5% a year between the country’s return to constitutional order in 2013 and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. However, it was followed by a recession about three times deeper than in most of the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa, with a sharp contraction of minus 7.1% in the economy due to the economic impact of pandemic closures on Madagascar’s mining, tourism, transport, and service sectors, and to the impact of drought and livestock disease on agriculture in the South. As a result, the COVID-19 crisis reversed more than a decade of income-per-capita gains. It pushed the poverty rate to a new record high of 81% (measured against the international poverty line of $2.15/capita/day). The crisis was compounded in the South of Madagascar by historic droughts that led to widespread crop failure, growing food insecurity and internal migration. In closing, one of the things I soon noticed was that as you read along, from the very off, waiting for the General, you immediately get wholly immersed in all the well-written, articulate and scene-building prose, as if you were sitting alongside both Adams and the characters he was walking and talking with. FULL REVIEW: https://annecarlini.com/ex_books.php?id=396 ~ Exclusive Magazine, Review

From the first page The Tragedy of Madagascar is an extremely well researched revelation, not revolution, about a small Sub-Saharan country that should be one of affluence, not one of extreme poverty and considered one of, if not the poorest, country in the world today. Nathanial Adams spent nine months travelling the country interviewing people from all walks of life; from people living in the most abject poverty to well cushioned politicians about the current state of the country, how it got into such a mess and where the country may be in future. He has used the Military coup of 2009 as the starting point to anchor the research as to why or how a country that has been independent for almost 80 years, has mineral wealth in abundance and an ever growing population, that in itself is rapidly becoming unsustainable, is in such a sad and sorry state. Interviewing the disposed former president Marc Ravalomanana and many others, Adams presents a very real look at a country which should have it all, but due to political instability, corruption and poor education, coupled with massive drought in the southern region of this small Island country, along with massive debt to the World Bank, is in very real danger of self-destructing. The subject matter is heartbreaking in extreme; the narrative of Adam’s brings the people and the country alive and shows a small window on a very real humanitarian tragedy. What the future holds for his embattled country is difficult to really know, but after reading the facts of the matter, the various viewpoints both politically and popularly, it would seem unless a miracle occurs, nothing good is in their future. Can things change is the question, but this is something only the people of Madagascar can control and while to a large degree people remain uneducated, and politics is unstable, with no firm economic partners, the future remains bleak. The Tragedy of Madagascar is one of the few well researched books on this Island country and certainly is one that will be well read by anyone interested in world politics, and the progress or lack of progress, of in the 21 Century, of Democracy. ~ Ian Banks - Blue Wolf Reviews, https://bluewolf-reviews.com/books/non-fiction/the-tragedy-of-madagascar/

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. '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. ~ Darya Silman (Reviewer), NetGalley

The Tragedy of Madagascar is a must read for anyone who cares about the fascinating, beguiling, maddening red island off the coast of Africa - or for anyone who wonders why so many forgotten, seemingly invisible people are trapped in poverty across the globe. With a sharp eye for detail, analysis, and storytelling, Adams is an expert guide who brings the island to life. There are few books about Madagascar, and this one will quickly become the go-to book to understand the island's history, its politics, and its depressing trajectory. A fascinating, well-written read. ~ Brian Klaas, Washington Post columnist and author of The Despot's Apprentice: Donald Trump's Attack on Democracy

Adams's book is incredibly insightful and will be valuable for Malagasy leaders, its people, and the international community. It is well-written and well-researched, provides an in-depth picture of modern Madagascar, and is a wonderful contribution to the historical literature of the country. It sheds new light on the progress of democracy in a developing country and the responsibilities of our leaders and the Western countries. A great read for anyone interested in Madagascar's past and its future. ~ Monja Roindefo Zafitsimivalo, Former Prime Minister of Madagascar

The South of Madagascar has been struggling for years to find enough water to feed all of the people in the region. In his new book about the island, Nathaniel Adams has written an important chapter about climate change in the Great South, one that beautifully tells the stories of the millions of people here trying to survive in an unforgiving land. ~ Vital Batubilema, UN World Food Program, Madagascar