In Sierra Leone [Paperback]

Michael Jackson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 8, 2004

In 2002, as Sierra Leone prepared to announce the end of its brutal civil war, the distinguished anthropologist, poet, and novelist Michael Jackson returned to the country where he had intermittently lived and worked as an ethnographer since 1969. While his initial concern was to help his old friend Sewa Bockarie (S. B.) Marah—a prominent figure in Sierra Leonean politics—write his autobiography, Jackson’s experiences during his stay led him to create a more complex work: In Sierra Leone, a beautifully rendered mosaic integrating S. B.’s moving stories with personal reflections, ethnographic digressions, and meditations on history and violence.

Though the Revolutionary United Front (R.U.F.) ostensibly fought its war (1991–2002) against corrupt government, the people of Sierra Leone were its victims. By the time the war was over, more than fifty thousand were dead, thousands more had been maimed, and over one million were displaced. Jackson relates the stories of political leaders and ordinary people trying to salvage their lives and livelihoods in the aftermath of cataclysmic violence. Combining these with his own knowledge of African folklore, history, and politics and with S. B.’s bittersweet memories—of his family’s rich heritage, his imprisonment as a political detainee, and his position in several of Sierra Leone’s post-independence governments—Jackson has created a work of elegiac, literary, and philosophical power.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Anthropologist, poet and novelist Jackson returned to Sierra Leone in 2002, after some 30 years’ absence, at a time when the West African country was emerging from a violent 11-year civil war. In the 1970s, Jackson had lived among Sierra Leone’s Kuranko people, conducting ethnographic fieldwork. He returned to ghostwrite the autobiography of his old friend, the eminent politician Sewa Bockarie Marah—known as "SB"—leader of Sierra Leone’s People’s Party. Jackson was eager also to record the stories of ordinary people, visiting amputee and refugee camps in order to gather their horrific survival stories. This book mingles the two projects; it captures both the intensity of high politics, by relating SB’s (otherwise unwritten) biography, and the traumas of the common people. Attempting to make sense of the roots of rebel violence, Jackson focuses on intermale relations, in SB’s family and in the tapestry of Kuranko social life in general. "Acts of violence are prepared over long periods of time, often in the subconscious," he writes. At what point did the traditional reciprocity of village life fail a younger generation of men who craved power? How do the anxieties of powerlessness and marginalization play into the dynamics of revolution? Citing Hannah Arendt and Pierre Bourdieu, among other philosophers, Jackson shies away from easy generalizations. Instead, he offers a more tentative and open-ended meditation on a country whose belief systems, folktales and values he has studied extensively. The result is a melancholic, reflective and informed work that will fascinate readers wishing to learn more about West African politics and people. B&w photos, maps.
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From Booklist

In 2002, Sierra Leone, the small West African country, was about to announce the end of its civil war (which had raged since 1991). The author, a professor of anthropology (and novelist) who had spent time in the country on and off since the late 1960s, returned to Sierra Leone to help an old friend with his autobiography. Sewa Bockarie (S. B.) Marah was a significant voice in the country's politics, and Jackson's memoir combines S. B.'s story with his own. Jackson writes of the victims of the civil war, the people of Sierra Leone, ordinary folks caught up in extraordinary circumstances. He writes of the political leaders, men of supposed power who found themselves powerless when it counted. He writes of tragedy, desolation, and destruction (the recent history of Sierra Leona is not a happy one). It's a story told in two voices, the author's and his friend's, the outsider and the insider. Choosing substance and intellectual discussion over cheap dramatic moments, the author has crafted a sociopolitical memoir that's educational and memorable. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Duke University Press Books (March 8, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0822333139
• ISBN-13: 978-0822333135
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #204,000 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #6 in Books > History > Africa > Sierra Leone
  • #26 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( J ) > Jackson, Michael

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars from the Armchair Anthropologist, September 22, 2010

By 

Gustaf Redemo "Armchair Anthropologist" (Berlin, Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Sierra Leone (Paperback)

The questions arising in this splendid piece of anthropological work are many.How can a society go on after the devastation? Why did it happen? Those are the two most important questions, which Michael Jackson contemplates while he meets people and writes an biography of the Sierra Leonese politician Sewa Bockarie Marah. I read slowly and thoughtfully to understand the richness and sometimes provocative thinking Jacksons puts forth.The thoughts of the book comes back when I read articles from different newspapers and journals.The conflict can't be explained in an article. It is too complex. But the book can enrich and be enriched by different articles in the main press.