There are major developments in Mali's civil war today after Islamist fighters reportedly took the central town of Konna. The BBC calls it the most serious fighting the country has seen since government forces were routed from Northern Mali in April, 2012.

Mali's violence is a complicated story that has gotten precious little coverage in the Western media. To get up to speed on the conflict, you'll want to start with Peter Chilson's new ebook "We Never Knew Exactly Where,"  which features both gripping first-hand reporting from rebel-held territory and an illuminating history going back to the colonization of West Africa. It's the first of our new "Borderlands" series of ebooks produced in cooperation with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.