Book excerpt: Sudan: The Land and the People presents the whole of Africa's largest country. Nearly one-third the size of the United States, Sudan sprawls over more than one million square miles. Here for more than a thousand years Arabs and Africans have collided and blended to produce people who share a turbulent history and rich cultural heritage. More than 350 unique languages, customs, and artistic traditions combine to form the ethnic patchwork of Africa's most diverse country. Internationally renowned photographer Michael Freeman traveled the length and breadth of Sudan to capture these extraordinary photos of modern Sudan. Sudan's richness is not only in its water, minerals, and oil, but in its ethnic and cultural mixture. Its promise lies in a durable end to conflict through acceptance of its plurality and diversity to realize prosperity for an entire region.