Items related to A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
""My new friends have begun to suspect I haven't told them the full story of my life.
"Why did you leave Sierra Leone?"
"Because there is a war."
"You mean, you saw people running around with guns and shooting each other?"
"Yes, all the time."
"Cool.""You should tell us about it sometime."
"Yes, sometime.""
"
This is how wars are fought now: by children, hopped-up on drugs and wielding AK-47s. Children have become soldiers of choice. In the more than fifty conflicts going on worldwide, it is estimated that there are some 300,000 child soldiers. Ishmael Beah used to be one of them.
What is war like through the eyes of a child soldier? How does one become a killer? How does one stop? Child soldiers have been profiled by journalists, and novelists have struggled to imagine their lives. But until now, there has not been a first-person account from someone who came through this hell and survived.
In "A Long Way Gone," Beah, now twenty-five years old, tells a riveting story: how at the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he'd been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts. This is a rare and mesmerizing account, told with real literary force and heartbreaking honesty.
"Why did you leave Sierra Leone?"
"Because there is a war."
"You mean, you saw people running around with guns and shooting each other?"
"Yes, all the time."
"Cool.""You should tell us about it sometime."
"Yes, sometime.""
"
This is how wars are fought now: by children, hopped-up on drugs and wielding AK-47s. Children have become soldiers of choice. In the more than fifty conflicts going on worldwide, it is estimated that there are some 300,000 child soldiers. Ishmael Beah used to be one of them.
What is war like through the eyes of a child soldier? How does one become a killer? How does one stop? Child soldiers have been profiled by journalists, and novelists have struggled to imagine their lives. But until now, there has not been a first-person account from someone who came through this hell and survived.
In "A Long Way Gone," Beah, now twenty-five years old, tells a riveting story: how at the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he'd been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts. This is a rare and mesmerizing account, told with real literary force and heartbreaking honesty.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review:
"This is a wrenching, beautiful, and mesmerizing tale. Beah's amazing saga provides a haunting lesson about how gentle folks can be capable of great brutalities as well goodness and courage. It will leave you breathless." --Walter Isaacson, author of "Benjamin Franklin: An American Life"
""A Long Way Gone" is one of the most important war stories of our generation. The arming of children is among the greatest evils of the modern world, and yet we know so little about it because the children themselves are swallowed up by the very wars they are forced to wage. Ishmael Beah has not only emerged intact from this chaos, he has become one of its most eloquent chroniclers. We ignore his message at our peril." --Sebastian Junger, author of "A Death in Belmont "and "A Perfect Storm
""This is a beautifully written book about a shocking war and the children who were forced to fight it. Ishmael Beah describes the unthinkable in calm, unforgettable language; his memoir is an important testament to the children elsewhere who continue to be conscripted into armies and militias." --Steve Coll, author of "Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001,"" "winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for general Nonfiction "This is a wrenching, beautiful, and mesmerizing tale. Beah's amazing saga provides a haunting lesson about how gentle folks can be capable of great brutalities as well goodness and courage. It will leave you breathless." --Walter Isaacson, author of "Benjamin Franklin: An American Life"
"Beah's memoir, "A Long Way Gone" (Farrar, Straus and -Giroux), is unforgettable testimony that Africa's children--millions of them dying and orphaned by preventable diseases, hundreds of thousands of them forced into battle--have eyes to see and voices to tell what has happened. And what voices! How is it possible that 26-year-old Beah, a nonnative English speaker, separated from his family at age 12, taught to maim and to kill at 13, can sound such notes of -family happiness, of friendship under duress, of quiet horror? No outsider could have written this book, and it's hard to imagine that many -insiders could do so with such acute vision, stark language, and tenderness. It is a heart-rending achievement." --Melissa Fay Greene, "Elle Magazine"
"Hideously effective in conveying the essential horror of his experiences."--"Kirkus Reviews""" "Extraordinary . . . A ferocious and desolate account of how ordinary children were turned into professional killers." -"The Guardian ""UK""" ""A Long Way Gone" is one of the most important war stories of our generation. The arming of children is among the greatest evils of the modern world, and yet we know so little about it because the children themselves are swallowed up by the very wars they are forced to wage. Ishmael Beah has not only emerged intact from this chaos, he has become one of its most eloquent chroniclers. We ignore his message at our peril." --Sebastian Junger, author of "A Death in Belmont "and "A Perfect Storm
""This is a beautifully written book about a shocking war and the children who were forced to fight it. Ishmael Beah describes the unthinkable in calm, unforgettable language; his memoir is an important testament tothe children elsewhere who continue to be conscripted into armies and militias." --Steve Coll, author of "Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001,"" "winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for general Nonfiction "This is a wrenching, beautiful, and mesmerizing tale. Beah's amazing saga provides a haunting lesson about how gentle folks can be capable of great brutalities as well goodness and courage. It will leave you breathless." --Walter Isaacson, author of "Benjamin Franklin: An American Life""" ""A Long Way Gone" hits you hard in the gut with Sierra Leone's unimaginable brutality and then it touches your soul with unexpected acts of kindness. Ishmael Beah's story tears your heart to pieces and then forces you to put it back together again, because if Beah can emerge from such horror with his humanity in tact, it's the least you can do."
--Jeannette Walls, author of "The Glass Castle: A Memoir"
" Beah' s memoir, "A Long Way Gone" (Farrar, Straus and - Giroux), is unforgettable testimony that Africa' s children-- millions of them dying and orphaned by preventable diseases, hundreds of thousands of them forced into battle-- have eyes to see and voices to tell what has happened. And what voices! How is it possible that 26-year-old Beah, a nonnative English speaker, separated from his family at age 12, taught to maim and to kill at 13, can sound such notes of - family happiness, of friendship under duress, of quiet horror? No outsider could have written this book, and it' s hard to imagine that many - insiders could do so with such acute vision, stark language, and tenderness. It is a heart-rending achievement." -- Melissa Fay Greene, "Elle Magazine"
" Hideously effective in conveying the essential horror of his experiences." -- "Kirkus Reviews""" " Extraordinary . . . A ferocious and desolate account of how ordinary children were turned into professional killers." - "The Guardian ""UK""" ""A Long Way Gone" is one of the most important war stories of our generation. The arming of children is among the greatest evils of the modern world, and yet we know so little about it because the children themselves are swallowed up by the very wars they are forced to wage. Ishmael Beah has not only emerged intact from this chaos, he has become one of its most eloquent chroniclers. We ignore his message at our peril." -- Sebastian Junger, author of "A Death in Belmont "and "A Perfect Storm
""This is a beautifully written book about a shocking war and the children who wereforced to fight it. Ishmael Beah describes the unthinkable in calm, unforgettable language; his memoir is an important testament to the children elsewhere who continue to be conscripted into armies and militias." -- Steve Coll, author of "Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001,"" "winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for general Nonfiction "This is a wrenching, beautiful, and mesmerizing tale. Beah's amazing saga provides a haunting lesson about how gentle folks can be capable of great brutalities as well goodness and courage. It will leave you breathless." -- Walter Isaacson, author of "Benjamin Franklin: An American Life""" " "A Long Way Gone" hits you hard in the gut with Sierra Leone' s unimaginable brutality and then it touches your soul with unexpected acts of kindness. Ishmael Beah' s story tears your heart to pieces and then forces you to put it back together again, because if Beah can emerge from such horror with his humanity in tact, it' s the least you can do."
-- Jeannette Walls, author of "The Glass Castle: A Memoir"
"Time Magazine "
"A breathtaking and unselfpitying account of how a gentle spirit survives a childhood from which all innocence has suddenly been sucked out. It's a truly riveting memoir." ""
" "
"Newsweek.com"
"Beah is a gifted writer. . . Read his memoir and you will be haunted . . . It's a high price to pay, but it's worth it."
"People Magazine"
"Deeply moving, even uplifting...Beah's story, with its clear-eyed reporting and literate particularity--whether he's dancing to rap, eating a coconut or running toward the burning village where his family is trapped--demands to be read." (Critic's Choice, Four stars) "Elle Magazine""Beah's memoir, "A Long Way Gone" (Farrar, Straus and -Giroux), is unforgettable testimony that Africa's children--millions of them dying and orphaned by preventable diseases, hundreds of thousands of them forced into battle--have eyes to see and voices to tell what has happened. And what voices! How is it possible that 26-year-old Beah, a nonnative English speaker, separated from his family at age 12, taught to maim and to kill at 13, can sound such notes of -family happiness, of friendship under duress, of quiet horror? No outsider could have written this book, and it's hard to imagine that many -insiders could do so with such acute vision, stark language, and tenderness. It is a heart-rending achievement." --Melissa Fay Greene
"Christian Science Monitor"
"When Beah is finally approached about the possibility of serving as a spokesperson on the issue of child soldiers, he knows exactly what he wants to tell the world: "I would always tell people that I believe children have the resilience to outlive their sufferings, if given achance."
Others may make the same assertions, but Beah has the advantage of stating them in the first person. That makes "A Long Way Gone" all the more gripping."
" "
"Minneapolis"" Star Tribune "
"In place of a text that has every right to be a diatribe against Sierra Leone, globalization or even himself, Beah has produced a book of such self-effacing humanity that refugees, political fronts and even death squads resolve themselves back into the faces of mothers, fathers and siblings. "A Long Way Gone" transports us into the lives of thousands of children whose lives have been altered by war, and it does so with a genuine and disarmingly emotional force."
"Philadelphia"" Inquirer"
"What Beah saw and did during İthe war¨ has haunted him ever since, and if you read his stunning and unflinching memoir, you'll be haunted, too . . . It would have been enough if Ishmael Beah had merely survived the horrors described in "A Long Way Gone." That he has written this unforgettable firsthand account of his odyssey is harder still to grasp. Those seeking to understand the human consequences of war, its brutal and brutalizing costs, would be wise to reflect on Ishmael Beah's story."""
"The Wall Street Journal"
"Beah speaks in a distinctive voice, and he tells an important story."
"Elle Magazine""Beah's memoir, "A Long Way Gone" (Farrar, Straus and -Giroux), is unforgettable testimony that Africa's children--millions of them dying and orphaned by preventable diseases, hundreds of thousands of them forced into battle--have eyes to see and voices to tell what has happened. And what voices! How is it possible that 26-year-old Beah, a nonnative English speaker, separatedfrom his family at age 12, taught to maim and to kill at 13, can sound such notes of -family happiness, of friendship under duress, of quiet horror? No outsider could have written this book, and it's hard to imagine that many -insiders could do so with such acute vision, stark language, and tenderness. It is a heart-rending achievement." --Melissa Fay Greene
"Hideously effective in conveying the essential horror of his experiences."--"Kirkus Reviews""" "Extraordinary . . . A ferocious and desolate account of how ordinary children were turned into professional killers." -"The Guardian ""UK""" ""A Long Way Gone" is one of the most important war stories of our generation. The arming of children is among the greatest evils of the modern world, and yet we know so little about it because the children themselves are swallowed up by the very wars they are forced to wage. Ishmael Beah has not only emerged intact from this chaos, he has become one of its most eloquent chroniclers. We ignore his message at our peril." --Sebastian Junger, author of "A Death in Belmont "and "A Perfect Storm
""This is a beautifully written book about a shocking war and the children who were forced to fight it. Ishmael Beah describes the unthinkable in calm, unforgettable language; his memoir is an important testament to the children elsewhere who continue to be conscripted into armies and militias." --Steve Coll, author of "Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001,"" "winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for general Nonfiction "This is a wrenching, beautiful, and mesmerizing tale. Beah's amazing saga provides a haunting lesson about howgentle folks can be capable of great brutalities as well goodness and courage. It will leave you breathless." --Walter Isaacson, author of "Benjamin Franklin: An American Life""" ""A Long Way Gone" hits you hard in the gut with Sierra Leone's unimaginable brutality and then it touches your soul with unexpected acts of kindness. Ishmael Beah's story tears your heart to pieces and then forces you to put it back together again, because if Beah can emerge from such horror with his humanity in tact, it's the least you can do."
--Jeannette Walls, author of "The Glass Castle: A Memoir"
"Washington Post
"" Everyone in the world should read this book. Not just because it contains an amazing story, or because it' s our moral, bleeding-heart duty, or because it' s clearly written. We should read it to learn about the world and about what it means to be human." "Time Magazine "
" A breathtaking and unselfpitying account of how a gentle spirit survives a childhood from which all innocence has suddenly been sucked out. It's a truly riveting memoir." ""
" "
"Newsweek.com"
" Beah is a gifted writer. . . Read his memoir and you will be haunted . . . It' s a high price to pay, but it' s worth it."
"People Magazine"
" Deeply moving, even uplifting... Beah's story, with its clear-eyed reporting and literate particularity-- whether he's dancing to rap, eating a coconut or running toward the burning village where his family is trapped-- demands to be read." (Critic' s Choice, Four stars) "Elle Magazine"" Beah' s memoir, "A Long Way Gone" (Farrar, Straus and - Giroux), is unforgettable testimony that Africa' s children-- millions of them dying and orphaned by preventable diseases, hundreds of thousands of them forced into battle-- have eyes to see and voices to tell what has happened. And what voices! How is it possible that 26-year-old Beah, a nonnative English speaker, separated from his family at age 12, taught to maim and to kill at 13, can sound such notes of - family happiness, of friendship under duress, of quiet horror? No outsider could have written this book, and it' s hard to imagine that many- insiders could do so with such acute vision, stark language, and tenderness. It is a heart-rending achievement." -- Melissa Fay Greene
"Christian Science Monitor"
" When Beah is finally approached about the possibility of serving as a spokesperson on the issue of child soldiers, he knows exactly what he wants to tell the world: " I would always tell people that I believe children have the resilience to outlive their sufferings, if given a chance."
Others may make the same assertions, but Beah has the advantage of stating them in the first person. That makes "A Long Way Gone" all the more gripping."
" "
"Minneapolis"" Star Tribune "
" In place of a text that has every right to be a diatribe against Sierra Leone, globalization or even himself, Beah has produced a book of such self-effacing humanity that refugees, political fronts and even death squads resolve themselves back into the faces of mothers, fathers and siblings. "A Long Way Gone" transports us into the lives of thousands of children whose lives have been altered by war, and it does so with a genuine and disarmingly emotional force."
"Philadelphia"" Inquirer"
" What Beah saw and did during [the war] has haunted him ever since, and if you read his stunning and unflinching memoir, you'll be haunted, too . . . It would have been enough if Ishmael Beah had merely survived the horrors described in "A Long Way Gone," That he has written this unforgettable firsthand account of his odyssey is harder still to grasp. Those seeking to understand the human consequences of war, its brutal and brutalizing costs, would be wise toreflect on Ishmael Beah's st...
From the Publisher:
""A Long Way Gone" is one of the most important war stories of our generation. The arming of children is among the greatest evils of the modern world, and yet we know so little about it because the children themselves are swallowed up by the very wars they are forced to wage. Ishmael Beah has not only emerged intact from this chaos, he has become one of its most eloquent chroniclers. We ignore his message at our peril." --Sebastian Junger, author of "A Death in Belmont "and "A Perfect Storm
""This is a beautifully written book about a shocking war and the children who were forced to fight it. Ishmael Beah describes the unthinkable in calm, unforgettable language; his memoir is an important testament to the children elsewhere who continue to be conscripted into armies and militias." --Steve Coll, author of "Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001,"" "winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for general Nonfiction "This is a wrenching, beautiful, and mesmerizing tale. Beah's amazing saga provides a haunting lesson about how gentle folks can be capable of great brutalities as well goodness and courage. It will leave you breathless." --Walter Isaacson, author of "Benjamin Franklin: An American Life"
"Beah's memoir, "A Long Way Gone" (Farrar, Straus and -Giroux), is unforgettable testimony that Africa's children--millions of them dying and orphaned by preventable diseases, hundreds of thousands of them forced into battle--have eyes to see and voices to tell what has happened. And what voices! How is it possible that 26-year-old Beah, a nonnative English speaker, separated from his family at age 12, taught to maim and to kill at 13, can sound such notes of -family happiness, of friendship under duress, of quiet horror? No outsider could have written this book, and it's hard to imagine that many -insiders could do so with such acute vision, stark language, and tenderness. It is a heart-rending achievement." --Melissa Fay Greene, "Elle Magazine"
"Hideously effective in conveying the essential horror of his experiences."--"Kirkus Reviews""" "Extraordinary . . . A ferocious and desolate account of how ordinary children were turned into professional killers." -"The Guardian ""UK""" ""A Long Way Gone" is one of the most important war stories of our generation. The arming of children is among the greatest evils of the modern world, and yet we know so little about it because the children themselves are swallowed up by the very wars they are forced to wage. Ishmael Beah has not only emerged intact from this chaos, he has become one of its most eloquent chroniclers. We ignore his message at our peril." --Sebastian Junger, author of "A Death in Belmont "and "A Perfect Storm
""This is a beautifully written book about a shocking war and the children who were forced to fight it. Ishmael Beah describes the unthinkable in calm, unforgettable language; his memoir is an important testament tothe children elsewhere who continue to be conscripted into armies and militias." --Steve Coll, author of "Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001,"" "winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for general Nonfiction "This is a wrenching, beautiful, and mesmerizing tale. Beah's amazing saga provides a haunting lesson about how gentle folks can be capable of great brutalities as well goodness and courage. It will leave you breathless." --Walter Isaacson, author of "Benjamin Franklin: An American Life""" ""A Long Way Gone" hits you hard in the gut with Sierra Leone's unimaginable brutality and then it touches your soul with unexpected acts of kindness. Ishmael Beah's story tears your heart to pieces and then forces you to put it back together again, because if Beah can emerge from such horror with his humanity in tact, it's the least you can do."
--Jeannette Walls, author of "The Glass Castle: A Memoir"
" Beah' s memoir, "A Long Way Gone" (Farrar, Straus and - Giroux), is unforgettable testimony that Africa' s children-- millions of them dying and orphaned by preventable diseases, hundreds of thousands of them forced into battle-- have eyes to see and voices to tell what has happened. And what voices! How is it possible that 26-year-old Beah, a nonnative English speaker, separated from his family at age 12, taught to maim and to kill at 13, can sound such notes of - family happiness, of friendship under duress, of quiet horror? No outsider could have written this book, and it' s hard to imagine that many - insiders could do so with such acute vision, stark language, and tenderness. It is a heart-rending achievement." -- Melissa Fay Greene, "Elle Magazine"
" Hideously effective in conveying the essential horror of his experiences." -- "Kirkus Reviews""" " Extraordinary . . . A ferocious and desolate account of how ordinary children were turned into professional killers." - "The Guardian ""UK""" ""A Long Way Gone" is one of the most important war stories of our generation. The arming of children is among the greatest evils of the modern world, and yet we know so little about it because the children themselves are swallowed up by the very wars they are forced to wage. Ishmael Beah has not only emerged intact from this chaos, he has become one of its most eloquent chroniclers. We ignore his message at our peril." -- Sebastian Junger, author of "A Death in Belmont "and "A Perfect Storm
""This is a beautifully written book about a shocking war and the children who wereforced to fight it. Ishmael Beah describes the unthinkable in calm, unforgettable language; his memoir is an important testament to the children elsewhere who continue to be conscripted into armies and militias." -- Steve Coll, author of "Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001,"" "winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for general Nonfiction "This is a wrenching, beautiful, and mesmerizing tale. Beah's amazing saga provides a haunting lesson about how gentle folks can be capable of great brutalities as well goodness and courage. It will leave you breathless." -- Walter Isaacson, author of "Benjamin Franklin: An American Life""" " "A Long Way Gone" hits you hard in the gut with Sierra Leone' s unimaginable brutality and then it touches your soul with unexpected acts of kindness. Ishmael Beah' s story tears your heart to pieces and then forces you to put it back together again, because if Beah can emerge from such horror with his humanity in tact, it' s the least you can do."
-- Jeannette Walls, author of "The Glass Castle: A Memoir"
"Time Magazine "
"A breathtaking and unselfpitying account of how a gentle spirit survives a childhood from which all innocence has suddenly been sucked out. It's a truly riveting memoir." ""
" "
"Newsweek.com"
"Beah is a gifted writer. . . Read his memoir and you will be haunted . . . It's a high price to pay, but it's worth it."
"People Magazine"
"Deeply moving, even uplifting...Beah's story, with its clear-eyed reporting and literate particularity--whether he's dancing to rap, eating a coconut or running toward the burning village where his family is trapped--demands to be read." (Critic's Choice, Four stars) "Elle Magazine""Beah's memoir, "A Long Way Gone" (Farrar, Straus and -Giroux), is unforgettable testimony that Africa's children--millions of them dying and orphaned by preventable diseases, hundreds of thousands of them forced into battle--have eyes to see and voices to tell what has happened. And what voices! How is it possible that 26-year-old Beah, a nonnative English speaker, separated from his family at age 12, taught to maim and to kill at 13, can sound such notes of -family happiness, of friendship under duress, of quiet horror? No outsider could have written this book, and it's hard to imagine that many -insiders could do so with such acute vision, stark language, and tenderness. It is a heart-rending achievement." --Melissa Fay Greene
"Christian Science Monitor"
"When Beah is finally approached about the possibility of serving as a spokesperson on the issue of child soldiers, he knows exactly what he wants to tell the world: "I would always tell people that I believe children have the resilience to outlive their sufferings, if given achance."
Others may make the same assertions, but Beah has the advantage of stating them in the first person. That makes "A Long Way Gone" all the more gripping."
" "
"Minneapolis"" Star Tribune "
"In place of a text that has every right to be a diatribe against Sierra Leone, globalization or even himself, Beah has produced a book of such self-effacing humanity that refugees, political fronts and even death squads resolve themselves back into the faces of mothers, fathers and siblings. "A Long Way Gone" transports us into the lives of thousands of children whose lives have been altered by war, and it does so with a genuine and disarmingly emotional force."
"Philadelphia"" Inquirer"
"What Beah saw and did during İthe war¨ has haunted him ever since, and if you read his stunning and unflinching memoir, you'll be haunted, too . . . It would have been enough if Ishmael Beah had merely survived the horrors described in "A Long Way Gone." That he has written this unforgettable firsthand account of his odyssey is harder still to grasp. Those seeking to understand the human consequences of war, its brutal and brutalizing costs, would be wise to reflect on Ishmael Beah's story."""
"The Wall Street Journal"
"Beah speaks in a distinctive voice, and he tells an important story."
"Elle Magazine""Beah's memoir, "A Long Way Gone" (Farrar, Straus and -Giroux), is unforgettable testimony that Africa's children--millions of them dying and orphaned by preventable diseases, hundreds of thousands of them forced into battle--have eyes to see and voices to tell what has happened. And what voices! How is it possible that 26-year-old Beah, a nonnative English speaker, separatedfrom his family at age 12, taught to maim and to kill at 13, can sound such notes of -family happiness, of friendship under duress, of quiet horror? No outsider could have written this book, and it's hard to imagine that many -insiders could do so with such acute vision, stark language, and tenderness. It is a heart-rending achievement." --Melissa Fay Greene
"Hideously effective in conveying the essential horror of his experiences."--"Kirkus Reviews""" "Extraordinary . . . A ferocious and desolate account of how ordinary children were turned into professional killers." -"The Guardian ""UK""" ""A Long Way Gone" is one of the most important war stories of our generation. The arming of children is among the greatest evils of the modern world, and yet we know so little about it because the children themselves are swallowed up by the very wars they are forced to wage. Ishmael Beah has not only emerged intact from this chaos, he has become one of its most eloquent chroniclers. We ignore his message at our peril." --Sebastian Junger, author of "A Death in Belmont "and "A Perfect Storm
""This is a beautifully written book about a shocking war and the children who were forced to fight it. Ishmael Beah describes the unthinkable in calm, unforgettable language; his memoir is an important testament to the children elsewhere who continue to be conscripted into armies and militias." --Steve Coll, author of "Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001,"" "winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for general Nonfiction "This is a wrenching, beautiful, and mesmerizing tale. Beah's amazing saga provides a haunting lesson about howgentle folks can be capable of great brutalities as well goodness and courage. It will leave you breathless." --Walter Isaacson, author of "Benjamin Franklin: An American Life""" ""A Long Way Gone" hits you hard in the gut with Sierra Leone's unimaginable brutality and then it touches your soul with unexpected acts of kindness. Ishmael Beah's story tears your heart to pieces and then forces you to put it back together again, because if Beah can emerge from such horror with his humanity in tact, it's the least you can do."
--Jeannette Walls, author of "The Glass Castle: A Memoir"
"Washington Post
"" Everyone in the world should read this book. Not just because it contains an amazing story, or because it' s our moral, bleeding-heart duty, or because it' s clearly written. We should read it to learn about the world and about what it means to be human." "Time Magazine "
" A breathtaking and unselfpitying account of how a gentle spirit survives a childhood from which all innocence has suddenly been sucked out. It's a truly riveting memoir." ""
" "
"Newsweek.com"
" Beah is a gifted writer. . . Read his memoir and you will be haunted . . . It' s a high price to pay, but it' s worth it."
"People Magazine"
" Deeply moving, even uplifting... Beah's story, with its clear-eyed reporting and literate particularity-- whether he's dancing to rap, eating a coconut or running toward the burning village where his family is trapped-- demands to be read." (Critic' s Choice, Four stars) "Elle Magazine"" Beah' s memoir, "A Long Way Gone" (Farrar, Straus and - Giroux), is unforgettable testimony that Africa' s children-- millions of them dying and orphaned by preventable diseases, hundreds of thousands of them forced into battle-- have eyes to see and voices to tell what has happened. And what voices! How is it possible that 26-year-old Beah, a nonnative English speaker, separated from his family at age 12, taught to maim and to kill at 13, can sound such notes of - family happiness, of friendship under duress, of quiet horror? No outsider could have written this book, and it' s hard to imagine that many- insiders could do so with such acute vision, stark language, and tenderness. It is a heart-rending achievement." -- Melissa Fay Greene
"Christian Science Monitor"
" When Beah is finally approached about the possibility of serving as a spokesperson on the issue of child soldiers, he knows exactly what he wants to tell the world: " I would always tell people that I believe children have the resilience to outlive their sufferings, if given a chance."
Others may make the same assertions, but Beah has the advantage of stating them in the first person. That makes "A Long Way Gone" all the more gripping."
" "
"Minneapolis"" Star Tribune "
" In place of a text that has every right to be a diatribe against Sierra Leone, globalization or even himself, Beah has produced a book of such self-effacing humanity that refugees, political fronts and even death squads resolve themselves back into the faces of mothers, fathers and siblings. "A Long Way Gone" transports us into the lives of thousands of children whose lives have been altered by war, and it does so with a genuine and disarmingly emotional force."
"Philadelphia"" Inquirer"
" What Beah saw and did during [the war] has haunted him ever since, and if you read his stunning and unflinching memoir, you'll be haunted, too . . . It would have been enough if Ishmael Beah had merely survived the horrors described in "A Long Way Gone," That he has written this unforgettable firsthand account of his odyssey is harder still to grasp. Those seeking to understand the human consequences of war, its brutal and brutalizing costs, would be wise toreflect on Ishmael Beah's st...
Giving the World a Story
by Ishmael Beah
by Ishmael Beah
Writing A Long Way Gone was a decision to make a constant and active journey into my past, all of it. This required a reawakening of happy and painful memories and a deep exploration of them, regardless of the difficulties, physical, emotional and psychological, that came with this task. This journey within myself became a solitary process as the act of writing and remembering needed this necessary loneliness. When the book was completed, I felt so exhausted within my entire being that I thought I wouldn't have the strength to continue revisiting my past. The loneliness of writing had slightly made me forget that the most important purpose of it was to share my stories with others, the readers, some of whom have become friends and family by visiting my homeland via the telling of my life.
When the book was first released here in the United States, I did not know how I would deal with people's reaction to it. I wasn't even sure that there would be a tremendous interest in the story. Nevertheless, I knew that it would be another aspect of journeying into the past, that it would require more of me and this time not in solitude, as it was with the writing of the book. Since 1998, when I came to live in the United States, I hadn't told the story of my life, in its entirety, to many people. With the release of the book and travelling around to speak about it, the dynamics of withholding completely changed.
I remember how overwhelmed I felt when I did my first reading in New York City. The feeling reminded me of my first day of school when I was a little boy. There were so many eyes and all staring at me that I felt my face warming up from the energies projected onto me by their looking. Another thing that was simultaneously shocking and moving was the diversity of the crowd. There were people of all ages and from all walks of life. Teachers had brought their pupils, mothers had brought their children who were as young as eleven, and I later learned that some of the young people present had introduced their parents to the book and brought them to the reading. The energy in the room was welcoming, celebratory, sad, uplifting and above all it was filled with an air of expectation for what I had to say. It became very clear to me then that the writing of the book was not enough, that people needed to hear my voice and that I needed to share my experiences directly with them. This desire made me happy because I knew then that I had opened a door for an in-depth discussion of the use of children in war. In addition, this rapport required not only the sharing of my story but facilitated the brainstorming of what can be done, what has been done, to prevent this appalling phenomenon of using children in war.
At the end of the reading, I opened the floor for questions. There was a bit of delay as some people were wiping tears from their eyes, others hissing and some perhaps just not knowing what was the right question to ask, what was appropriate to say. I felt the emotions and confusion in the room and decided to say something to make everyone comfortable. 'Please do not hesitate to ask me anything you want. You will not offend me at all. And it is only by asking honest, difficult and thoughtful questions that we can all begin to understand what war does to the human spirit,' I said. The questions then started coming. First they were about my earlier childhood before the war, and then there were those about the war and rehabilitation, how I came to find myself in New York, etc. The signing of books followed this and almost everyone wanted to give me a hug. A remarkable thing that happened at that event that I will never forget was when a little girl who I hadn't seen during the reading gave me a teddy bear and said, 'You can still have your childhood.' She was no more than nine years old. This stood out particularly for me because it was such a simple yet meaningful and heartfelt gesture. She smiled and walked away into the arms of her weeping mother. Throughout the book tour, that still continues and I have received similar gestures. People have given me things such as a belt buckle with the head of a lion, rap cassettes, all of which I had lost during the war, and so many other items including meaningful letters. Through these gestures and letters, I have come to learn that my story has become theirs and that our common humanity has connected.
In my Mende tribe in Sierra Leone, there is a saying that 'When you tell a story, you give it out to the world and whoever listens becomes a part of that story; the story becomes theirs in how they relate to it, use it and find whatever meaning they can in the telling.' I believe that this is what has happened with writing about my experiences. Even though it is a personal story, the issue that the book puts a human face to is bigger than everyone and me. Therefore, each person has been able to make that human connection that is specifically their own. I only act as a facilitator for this journey of discovering and being exposed to the lives of others in different parts of the world.
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- PublisherTurtleback Books
- Publication date2008
- ISBN 10 1606860941
- ISBN 13 9781606860946
- BindingLibrary Binding
- Number of pages229
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A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier [Library Binding] Beah, Ishmael
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