A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier (2007)

by Ishmael Beah

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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. 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. Ishmael Beah, now 25 years old, tells 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.--From publisher description.… (more)

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	World Reading Circle: A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah	2 unread / 2	mirrani, January 2014

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English (311) French (1) Italian (1) All languages (313)

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Shayla: I read this for school, it was really sad and super serious and I was pretty invested in the story but for hobby reading it's not that great. (

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Shayla_Hi | Jun 3, 2024 |

Biography

BooksInMirror | Feb 19, 2024 |

This is a very remarkable memoir of Ishmael Beah's two years as a child soldier. He graphically displays what post traumatic stress disorder can do to anyone yet also proves that rehabilitation is possible for even the most psychologically and physically mangled patients. It is something I wish the American court system would consider. If we instead took the time to really work with these children (who committed violent acts), perhaps we could turn them in to college graduates instead of trying them as adults and putting them to death. Beah killed his fellow country men, become addicted to drugs, and became numb to this lifestyle. Yet after all of this, he had proper medical treatment and then graduated from Oberlin and now works for the Human Rights Watch. (

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tyk314 | Jan 22, 2024 |

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tyk314 | Jan 22, 2024 |

This is one of those books that reads like fiction and you really really wish it was, because you can't believe the author is alive to tell the story. It is an amazing story of overcoming all odds. Very powerful. (

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KarenDeLucas | Nov 13, 2023 |

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The book, A Long Way Gone: Memoir of a Boy Soldier, is a story about how a boy at a young age had to witness something major that was taking place in Africa, his homeland. This leave the audience shocked because he explains what he went through as a child and how it affected him as the war went by. For the ones who have read this book understand the struggle that the main character, Ishmael, Ishmael Beah, went through. He was separated from his family and was taken in by the group who would kill the rebels to survive. The rebels are known as the ones who started the war.

added by Kayla_Tovar | editBook, Kayla Tovar (Dec 17, 2018)

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Awards

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Christian Science Monitor Best Book (Nonfiction – 2007)

GEO Magazine Recommendation

New York Times bestseller (Nonfiction – 2007)

The New York Times Notable Books of the Year (Nonfiction – 2007)

Publishers Weekly's Best Books of the Year (Nonfiction – 2007)

Starbucks book selection (2007)

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Canonical title

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

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Sierra Leone Civil War

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Epigraph

Dedication

To the memories of Nya Nje, Nya Keke, Nya Ndig-ge isa, and Kaynya. Your spririts and presence within me give me strength to carry on,

to all the children of Sierra Leone who were robbed of their childhoods,

and to the memory of Walter (Wally) Scheuer for his generous and compassionate heart and for teaching me the etiquette of being a gentleman

First words

My high school friends have begun to suspect I haven't told them the full story of my life.

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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

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A Long Way Gone

File:A Long Way Gone.jpg

Ishmael Beah

Sierra Leone Creole people

▾Book descriptions

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. 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. Ishmael Beah, now 25 years old, tells 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.--From publisher description.

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Disturbing, but powerful book that deals with the horrible effects of violence and desperation. The author was lucky to be chosen to be "rehabilitated", but so many others were not. It actually seems like a miracle that he could be rehabilitated- his mentors showed incredible persistence in the face of extreme resistance. The memoir also demonstrates the power of the group to influence the behavior of the individual. It staggers the mind to try to grasp how much effort it would take to rehabilitate all the violent members of the world.

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