They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky

The True Story of Three Lost Boys from Sudan

By: Benson Deng, Alephonsion Deng, Benjamin Ajak, Judy Bernstein

Narrated by: David Henry, David Zinn, Augustino Mayai, Teri Clark Linden

Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

Benjamin, Alepho, and Benson were raised among the Dinka tribe of Sudan. Their world was an insulated, close-knit community of grass-roofed cottages, cattle herders, and tribal councils. The lions and pythons that prowled beyond the village fences were the greatest threat they knew.

All that changed the night the government-armed Murahiliin began attacking their villages. Amid the chaos, screams, conflagration, and gunfire, five-year-old Benson and seven-year-old Benjamin fled into the dark night. Two years later, Alepho, age seven, was forced to do the same. Across the Southern Sudan, over the next five years, thousands of other boys did likewise, joining this stream of child refugees that became known as the Lost Boys. Their journey would take them over one thousand miles across a war-ravaged country, through landmine-sown paths, crocodile-infested waters, and grotesque extremes of hunger, thirst, and disease. The refugee camps they eventually filtered through offered little respite from the brutality they were fleeing.

In They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky, Alepho, Benson, and Benjamin, by turn, recount their experiences along this unthinkable journey. They vividly recall the family, friends, and tribal world they left far behind them and their desperate efforts to keep track of one another. This is a captivating memoir of Sudan and a powerful portrait of war as seen through the eyes of children. And it is, in the end, an inspiring and unforgettable tribute to the tenacity of even the youngest human spirits.

©2005 Alephonsion Deng, Benson Deng, Benjamin Ajak, Judy A. Bernstein (P)2009 PublicAffairs

Critic reviews

"In this tender and lyrical story, the world of some of Africa's most desperate children - running away from war and toward life - is vividly evoked. . . .The result is one of the most riveting stories ever told of African childhoods - and a stirring tale of courage." ( Washington Post Book World)

A Must Read - Better Understanding

Ignorance is not bliss it's just being naive. I'm so grateful that people share their stories so more people will become educated and therefore find more compassion for those struggling throughout the world.

Amazing book!

Amazing and touching story highly recommend, just remember that the book is told from the point of view of 3 characters and it switches and can become kind of confusing but overall it's great!

A MUST Read

I met and friended some "lost boys" from Sudan when I lived in Washington state and found their story inspiring and then had to read this book. Years later decided to listen to it, the story of what these young men went thru left me in awe! It is a wonderful book!

Pages

Having page numbers would be very beneficial to keep track of the reading. Great book!

what's happening in the rest of the world

Any additional comments?

This should be required reading for all high school students. We all need to wake up and realize the world is not so big that we can hide under our flag forever. Terrorism is a growing menace.

Amazing!

I loved this book! I had to read it for a class; however, this book wasn't like any book that you had to suffer through. This one made me want to read more every time I set the book down. I ended up reading this book a couple hours at a time. If you are interested to read this fantastic story, I suggest you doing what I did; get the book in physical form and read along. It's the best way to fully submerge yourself into this story.

Touched my heart

After listening to this story I was so awe inspired by the fortitude of these young men and the experiances they lived thru. My heart ached with the losses they experianced at such a very young ages. Thank you to all the lost boys for sharing your story.

What seems scattered comes together.

Would you listen to They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky again? Why?

I'm not sure if I'd need to listen to the book again. I remember it well enough. And it's a sad/triumphant story. There are parts I never want to hear again.
It's also read by people with certain accents that didn't allow me to speed up my reading pace, since I was concentrating on what they were saying.

What was one of the most memorable moments of They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky?

Some of the specific tragedies they described are burned in my memory forever, and I choose not to revisit. I did expect some horrors and sadness, so I'm not upset. These types of books remind me why I am so happy to be healthy, safe and free.

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The same as the book's tagline. The stories of 3 lost boys from Sudan. I wasn't aware when I began that the term "Lost Boys" was not the Author's word choice, but a well-known term for those who escape.

Any additional comments?

Thank you for this book. It hurts you heart in the right way.
While the stories seem extremely scattered and far between in the beginning, hold tight. They begin to shorten and intertwine and make so much more sense later. Be patient :)

Tenacity, mental and physical strength

This book reveals a glimpse of the physical and emotional challenges you endures and conquered at such a young age. Through the familial lessons learned from your parents and communal experiences you were able to withstand atrocities no living being let alone a child should ever experience. Furthermore instead of internalizing and treating others in the same inhumane, immoral and compassion starved manner; you young men merged your power and truly exhibited being your brothers keeper. I had the pleasure of working with one of your country man and he too was one of The Lost Boys of Sudan. His stature and quiet peaceful ways was one to bestow and one evening he shared a small bit of his experience with me that prompted me to do more research. I was stunned, appalled and it moves me to action. Thank you so much for sharing.

Powerful Testament to the Human Spirit

Sudan’s Lost Boy stories are all extraordinary. They are all moving, fascinating, and powerful reminders of what human beings are sometimes forced to survive. And these three stories paint a rounded picture of the hardships that tens of thousands of Lost Boys endured.

They walked across deserts with little food or water, journeyed many hundreds of miles on foot, braved the depredations of lions and hyenas, which often ate their friends, escaped impressment in militias, and survived starvation, over and over and over again.

Please listen to this book and expand your notions of what it means to be human, and add to your reading list Dave Egger’s even more extraordinary true tale in novelized form, What is the What.