by Ishmael Beah
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Product Description
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.”
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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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 a long way gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, 2008-09-03
Unbelievable story told through the eyes of a 12 year old boy. I read some of the negative reviews posted on this website related to this book. The reviewers felt his (the author) facts weren't true and some things were impossible to have happened. I want to dispell any commentary surrounding this. Remember, this is being told from a 12 year old child's perspective. It brings awareness to the despicable acts humans place upon each other. And, as always, the most central question remains: What will we do about it? Probably nothing. At the very least, read the book. Then, watch Blood Diamonds. The scenes in which boy soldiers are shown are based on the fact presented in this book.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
K.Ramu, 2008-09-01
A heart wrenching story told in a simple yet elegant way.Ishmael really proved that "Children can outlive their sufferings, if given a chance".I wonder how many more Ishmael's are yet to be discovered from countries like Sierra Leone. A must read book.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
This book needs to be read by everyone..., 2008-08-25
Rarely has a book had such an impact on me. Ismael Beah's epic journey from carefree childhood to inhuman adolescence to enlightened adulthood tells the story of hope for mankind. As Beah has said, it puts a human voice to the war and violence in his country of Sierra Leone, and, in the larger perspective, to all violence, war and hatred around the world. I heard Ismael Beah speak in person yesterday at Florida Gulf Coast University where he addressed the incoming freshmen with his message of love and hope. In the tradition of his people, he is a true storyteller and he tells his story with conviction. If ever a book should be read by everyone living in today's world, this is it.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
great read, 2008-08-25
very hard to put this book down, heart wrenching and difficult to read at times, but worth every minute of it. Very well written
1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
 2nd Worst Book I've Read in 2008, 2008-08-24
I have no doubt that Beah experienced things that I can't imagine and that no child should see, but he writes it poorly. I am all for stories, which is why I read, but think they need to be told well. A given medium needs to be done properly to be most effective. Beah does it poorly. I'd give his book a D. He tells his story so badly that the reader has no idea the point, plot, relevance, or validity of the story. In no way do I want to make light of what he experienced, but he did it so poorly that he did a disservice to all books. This was a waste of the paper it was printed on.
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