A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
“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.”
I smile a little.
“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.
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Additional Product Information
- ISBN: 9780374105235
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334 Reviews
| From: Amazon Posted: Dec 18, 2007 Type: User Review |
An eye-opener and a riveting read.
It's hard not to have a different perspective on your own life while reading this book. Ishmael Beah's story is so tragic, tumbling from one low point to another, new, lower point so many times that you just have to stop and be thankful for what...
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 5.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Dec 13, 2007 Type: User Review |
I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN
"A Long Way Gone" is such an inspiring eye-opening tale...it's so much more than a book. I would like to thank the author for his willingness and strength that it took him to write this book.
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5.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Dec 07, 2007 Type: User Review |
Hard to start, impossible to put down
The gripping story of what an ordinary boy must do to survive a war that rips him from his family and makes everyone he meets suspicious of his motives. I picked up this book with dread, knowing it would be a harsh depiction of war, but his...
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5.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Dec 06, 2007 Type: User Review |
Gripping
This is the most gripping book I have ever read.
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5.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Dec 05, 2007 Type: User Review |
Incredible
I literally just finished reading this book about 10 minutes ago and I am still amazed at how great this book was. Beah did an incredible job at keeping my attention throughout the entire book. Very easy to read but very hard to digest how a boy...
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5.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Dec 01, 2007 Type: User Review |
Painfully Beautiful
I have a deep appreciation for memoirs which allow me insight into social issues that I would not otherwise have. This book was absolutely amazing. Ishmael Bea is a talented writer who has overcome tremendous hurdles in search of a place in this...
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5.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Nov 30, 2007 Type: User Review |
Boring first half, superb second half.
The first part of this book is just plain dull. So bad and so boring that I almost stopped reading the book. Basically, the main character is happy, goes to a village, almost dies, is saved, rinse - repeat. Half the book is like this, and it was...
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 3.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Nov 27, 2007 Type: User Review |
Heartbreaking
This story of just one of the many children soldiers in Africa will make you angry, sad, & happy. It is a look into the life of one child who made it out alive, who was given another chance to heal & change his life. This book brings awareness...
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 4.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Nov 26, 2007 Type: User Review |
one day
i dont normally read a lot ,but i picked up this book and ended up reading it in one day.it amazes me that in todays world that children have to go though such ordeals.
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5.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Nov 26, 2007 Type: User Review |
Fantastic
This is by far the best memoir I have ever read. Do yourself a favor and read this book.
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5.00/5 |
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