Online Shop
|
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy SoldierSnagging.org In association with Amazon.co.ukOnline Shop | Property Guides | Kitchen & Home | Garden Tools | Power Tools | Consumer Electronics Get the Snagging Checklist Here!  List Price: £14.99 Amazon.co.uk's Price: £10.49 You Save: £4.50 (30%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
This item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping.
Binding: HardcoverEAN: 9780007247080 ISBN: 0007247087 Label: Fourth Estate Ltd Manufacturer: Fourth Estate Ltd Number Of Pages: 240 Publication Date: May 21, 2007 Publisher: Fourth Estate Ltd Studio: Fourth Estate Ltd Related Items:
Average Rating:
 Rating: - A book of lifeEvery privilege child and adult should read this book not only to educate them about the lessons of life a child soldier went through, but the also not to take life for granted. The book is immensely captivating and each time I read it, I always feel as if I am in the environment where all the events are happening. It is brilliantly written, very detailed and allows tears flow down your checks occasionally. This will do very well as a film. The story in itself is very powerful. Rating: - Courtesy of Teens Read TooImagine, you live in a village; you know, the ones without electricity and plumbing? You get water from the river for your mother so she can cook dinner but, when you come back, the village is ablaze and everyone is running. Not just running in one direction but everywhere; screaming, yelling, falling down dead. This is what causes Ishmael Beah's childhood to be lost. Beah starts out as a quiet, peace-loving boy who suddenly is on the run from all the destruction and terror with his older brother, Junior, and some friends. After months of wandering on paths and in the forest, they come to a farm outside of a village. Beah finds out his family is in the village and as a group they start walking. Then the rebels attack and his family is dead. Torn, tired, and angry, Beah will eventually lose everything he cared about; his family, his health (both mentally and physically), and almost his life. As a boy soldier recruited by the Sierra Leone Army he changes drastically. Drugs, energy stimulants, and other illegal acts (in the United States) cause him to kill without thinking, never even cringing at the sight of death and basically causing him to feel almost inhuman. A LONG WAY GONE is Ishmael Beah's memoir based on his experiences and the tragic events of his life. I loved this book because it was a huge eye-opener about the war in Sierra Leone and how it affected everyone, even children. I also believe that everyone should read this book at least once in their life time. Maybe then people can help those who have become boy soldiers or anyone affected by a war. Maybe A LONG WAY GONE could change the world, make it a more peaceful place; that is what I hope can happen. Reviewed by: Rachel - The Class Rating: - A very powerful human testimonyThis is one of the most touching story I have ever read. It's about an innocent boy who lost everything, family & friends as the world he lived in descended into what I can only describe as a living hell. Ishmael Beah had a very simple life, but all that changed in an instant when war broke out in his native Sierre Loene and the violence, killings, destruction, massacring, horror, savagery, brutality and atrocities that followed is so shocking and graphic for you to even imagine. I warn you, this book is not for the faint hearted. All the chapters in this book are so engrossing but a few stand out for me. The two where he and friends are quickly trained by a lieutenant and instantly sent to fight and defend for their very survival and existence. Scared and afraid to pull the trigger, it took the death of his young friends shot to pieces and blown to bits by his side for this innocent boy to be transformed into a brutal killing machine. Another one is the part where after being told his family are alive and well waiting for him in a nearby village only for him to get there seconds late as rebel soldiers burn kill and massacre every living thing in site. The welfare people, aid workers, nurses etc did a fantastic job to rehabilitate him but he was almost dragged back into fighting when the war spread into the safe parts of the country where he took refuge. He had to flee his country for good and the only dissapointing aspect of this book is the ending where he failed to tell how he got back to New york a place he currently recides. I wanted to read more and never wanted it to end. This is truly an amazing story of significant relevance to the sad and brutal world we sometimes live in and I strongly recommend that you read this tale. Rating:  - Moving and shamefulWar in the west is fought by proxy. Our investments and interests drive conflict in thousands of situations. Sierra Leone was no different. But in Sierra Leone, the west turned it's back for too long. Ishmael Beah's story tells the tale of what happened before any action was taken to end the civil war that crippled one of West Africa's jewels. In honest and straightforward language, Beah narrates the horrors of war, perpetrated by him and by others and forces us to realise that war is not some far off idea we hear of in the news every few days, but a very real and horrific event that affects even the most vulnerable in society. All credit to the author who manages to tell an emotionally very difficult story in such poignant words. Rating: - Read this bookIt's taken me a long time to write a review on this book. It is not an easy book to write a review on. I'll start from the end result then and move backwards. I think this is a very important book and I honestly believe everyone should read it. I finished it a couple of months ago and I imagine that barely a day has gone by without my thinking about it. Ishmael Beah and his horrific story are never far from my mind, but at at the same time I know that he escaped and now tours the world giving hope and guidance to others. This book has been torn apart by reporters claiming the book to be inaccurate in terms of time frame and events. Other reviewers have criticised Beah's style of writing and emotional involvement in the story. I am not going to defend the author, I'm not going to say that it is okay if only most of the facts are correct and I'm not going to dwell on the fact that he is a human being and not a professional writer. What I do take away from this book was that this young man was drafted into the war in Sierra Leone as a child soldier. I don't care if he was 13 or 15 when it happened and I don't care if he was a child soldier for two years or six months. The point is that he was pumped full of drugs by adults and he both witnessed the violent deaths of many young friends and personally killed several children and men. The book left me with a desire to learn much more about Sierra Leone and I now know much more about the war in the region than I did initially. To me that means that the book fulfilled it's purpose. Read it  Try searching the Internet for "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" or Ebay for "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier". You might also be interested in the following great products:
|