NEWS: A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

CULTURE: A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

Amnesty International currently estimates that there may be as many as 300,000 child soldiers fighting in different wars across the world. When Ishmael Beah was 13, his family was killed during Sierra Leone’s civil war, and he was forced by the army to become one of these soldiers. Fortunately, not only was he able to escape, he has also written one of the most highly acclaimed books of the year, a memoir of his experiences.

A Long Way Gone is first a story of the absolute worst of humanity, as Beah is forced to kill “more people than he can count” smoking marijuana, snorting “brown-brown,” (a combination of cocaine and gunpowder) and watching violent American films with his fellow child soldiers, all to numb his mind to the horrors he is surrounded by -- before he turns 14. When he is rescued by UNICEF, and especially when he flees Sierra Leone for America, the story turns hopeful as he struggles with returning to civilization, something he is still struggling with.

Here is Beah, reading an excerpt from A Long Way Gone:

This is me:



This is PointBlank:



That Editor label looks awesome.

Not new to me. I still can't find words to say about it.

Culture edtior eh? Congrats.
Does this mean we'll be getting regular a book review/shout-out-to-books type column?

I think between myself and D_G, you'll be getting a lot of literary news.

/applause


also, i saw him on the daily show i think it was, the book sounds really interesting

Bitchin'

Something on the newswire that won't make me want to set my hair on fire

I was able to be at a reading of his here in portland a few weeks ago. Left me speechless...a hard thing to do. The mans spirit is amazing.

I want to read this. The baby killers were the parts that killed me most in Blood Diamond and City of God. I'm interested to read his perspectives.

but like...fuck. How is he at all okay?

I saw him on the Daily Show and heard him on NPR so I ran out and got the book. It is truly an amazing book. Having traveled to Africa while I was in the military as I was reading it I could truly vistualize what happened. I think the book also does a good job of explaining why this happens. Not in a direct or analitical form but you understand why these children have to fight.
This book is wonderful and and totaly tells an untold story.