Customer Reviews

Civil-Military Relations in Sierra Leone: A Case Study of African Soldiers in Politics

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I wrote a review on this book several years ago, but it seems to have vanished from this page. I was deputy ambassador in Freetown, Sierra Leone from 1987-1991. There was a copy of the original edition of this book in my office bookcase. For the first few months it was my only information on the history of the Sierra Leone military and was well recommended by our military ataches based in Monrovia, Liberia. As time passed I developed my own contacts with the military and learned from many of those mentioned in the book, that the information was very reliable. Many of the junior officers described in the book had since risen to high rank including Major General Tarawalli, the leader of the army. The book's description of their earlier activities gave me some measure of the men with whom I was dealing.

The war in Liberia started in my second year in Freetown and spread to Sierra Leone the following year. During that period individuals appeared in Freetown whose identity would have been meaningless to me had it not been for the book. The book's description of early army plotting in the 1960s and 70s and the resulting reaction helped me understand the army's behavior during my tenure. It also explained why the army was so completely unprepared to deal with what started as a relatively small invasion. That knowledge was passed to Washington in many explanatory and reporting cables. My biggest regret was that the US government did not act more vigorously when the invasion began and a terrible tragedy could have been avoided.

There are now many new books available on Sierra Leone history. I can say, however, that at one time one could not have understood what happened in Sierra Leone without reading this book. I still think it is a must read.

Gary H. Maybarduk, PhD, FSO(r)
Deputy Chief of Mission
American Embassy, Freetown 1987-1991

It is questionable as to whether the author has ever been in Africa, much less been there in the last 25 years. This book is a "graduate student" book report covering second hand information. Don't waste your time or money. Spend the time talking to your family instead.

This book was of no help in understanding the subject. It appears to have been written by a graduate student who never spend one day in Sierra Leone, much less talked to an African solider. To say it was poorly written is the greatest kindness possible. Thankfully, I can get my money back.

Where did they find this guy? This book appears to have been reprinted from the 1977 edition which was of no help in understanding Sierra Leone or African soliders. The author must have paid the publisher to reprint it. Reifications are mounted on top of stero-types, and the analysis is at best poor. I doubt that the author has even been in Sierra Leone!