Angola has been embroiled in war almost continuously since its independence in 1975. Yet despite countless casualties, including some two million displaced people, Western media have paid scant attention to this devastataling conflict -- one of apartheid South Africa's dirty secrets.<P>Victoria Brittain has witnessed the horror and destruction in Angola for longer than almost any other anglophone journalist. In Death of Dignity she uniquely combines a narrative el the war based on historical political analysis with first-hand accounts of many decisive events and portraits of leading personalities. The author examines the origin and course of the conflict and demonstrates how Africa's meal heroic revolution was deliberately derailed and destroyed by United States foreign policy. Death of Dignity unveils an important and much neglected history, and one that is vital to a thorough understanding of post-colonial Africa.