The Shadow World: Inside the Global Arms Trade

Authoritative, disturbing and compelling- an essential expose of the shocking truth behind the multi-billion-pound global arms trade Pulling back the curtain on the secretive world of the global arms trade, Andrew Feinstein reveals the corruption and the cover-ups behind weapons deals ranging from the largest in history - between the British and Saudi governments - to BAE's controversial transactions in South Africa, Tanzania and eastern Europe, and the revolving-door relationships that characterise the US Congressional-Military-Industrial Complex. He exposes in forensic detail both the formal government-to-government trade in arms and the shadow world of illicit weapons dealing - and lays bare the shocking and inextricable links between the two. The Shadow World places us in the midst of the arms trade's dramatic wheeling and dealing, ranging from corporate boardrooms to seedy out-of-the-way hotels via far-flung offshore havens, and reveals the profound danger this network represents to all of us.

About the Author :
Andrew Feinstein is the author of After the Party- A Personal and Political Journey Inside the ANC, a best-selling memoir of his time as an African National Congress Member of Parliament in South Africa. His journalism has been featured in the Guardian, the Daily Telegraph, Prospect, the New York Times, Der Spiegel, the New Statesman and Africa Report. In 2011 he authored the lead article in the authoritative Sipri Yearbook. He appears regularly on the BBC, CNN and Al Jazeera. He has recently been an Open Society Institute International Fellow and is the founding co-director of Corruption Watch, an anti-corruption NGO, and chairperson of the Aids charity FoTAC.

Review :
"An authoritative guide to the business of war. Chilling, heartbreaking, and enraging."---Arundhati Roy"Feinstein writes with a crusading spirit and a depth of detail that lend "The Shadow World" urgency and authority....A comprehensive treatment of the arms trade, possibly the most complete account that has ever been written."---"The Washington Post""Feinstein makes his case with an impressive amount of detailed research and a gift for narrative that make his findings hard to dismiss."---"Foreign Affairs""An eye-opener...Everyone would do well to read this book and self-educate on what this world is all about, and then take some action in the voting booth....Tremendous."---"Pittsburgh Post-Gazette" "Remarkable and courageous. There is enough in Feinstein's book for a dozen film pitches. Bizarre characters leap from the page . . . We knew the arms business was corrupt, but only a book as exhaustively researched as this one is able to reveal just how serious and extensive this corruption really is, and how democracy itself is threatened. "The Shadow World" is a heroic book by an author who, in writing it, has put himself in the firing line. We surely can't go on leaving this story to Hollywood. The global arms trade totalled $1.6 trillion in 2010, up 53% in 10 years. As the world plunges into a double dip recession, with huge stockpiles of weapons, the script is being written for the ultimate disaster movie." -- "Sunday Herald""" "That the world is awash in weapons is not news. But the way weapons large and small flow from the United States, Britain and other producers to the world's villains is ever astonishing. In "The Shadow World," Andrew Feinstein gives us a sweeping and troub "A devastating and scrupulously documented account of the greed, venality, and rampant corruption pervading the global arms trade. Andrew Feinstein has produced a brilliant and massively important book." -- Andrew J. Bacevich, author of "Washington Rules: America's Path to Permanent War" and Ret. Colonel, U.S. Army "Feinstein's book is sound, timely and invaluable. Diligent readers will be rewarded." --"Kirkus Review" (starred) "The "Shadow World" peels back the veil of secrecy behind which the global arms trade undermines accountable democracy, socioeconomic development, and human rights, causing suffering across the world. In the same way that Andrew Feinstein exposed a corrupt arms deal that darkened South Africa's rainbow nation, he has now turned his forensic gaze on the impact of similar weapons deals around the world. This book is essential reading for anyone who cares about justice, transparency, and accountability in both the public and private spheres, and for anyone who beli "Feinstein's book is sound, timely and invaluable. Diligent readers will be rewarded." --"Kirkus Review" (starred) "The "Shadow World" peels back the veil of secrecy behind which the global arms trade undermines accountable democracy, socioeconomic development, and human rights, causing suffering across the world. In the same way that Andrew Feinstein exposed a corrupt arms deal that darkened South Africa's rainbow nation, he has now turned his forensic gaze on the impact of similar weapons deals around the world. This book is essential reading for anyone who cares about justice, transparency, and accountability in both the public and private spheres, and for anyone who believes that it is more important to invest in saving lives than in the machinery of death." --Archbishop Desmond Tutu "The "Shadow World" peels back the veil of secrecy behind which the global arms trade undermines accountable democracy, socioeconomic development, and human rights, causing suffering across the world. In the same way that Andrew Feinstein exposed a corrupt arms deal that darkened South Africa's rainbow nation, he has now turned his forensic gaze on the impact of similar weapons deals around the world. This book is essential reading for anyone who cares about justice, transparency, and accountability in both the public and private spheres, and for anyone who believes that it is more important to invest in saving lives than in the machinery of death." --Archbishop Desmond Tutu