Product Description
This important book addresses several misconceptions about war, youth, and resources in Sierra Leone. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Fighting for Comprehension
Paul Richards writes this book from a controversial -- and certainly not typical -- perspective. While refreshing in this innovation, the argument is poorly structured, and Richards' writing nearly impossible to follow. I found reading this work unbelievably frustrating, and the convoluted presentation of both fact and theory inappropriate to a work of social science. Where were the editors?!?

Worth the reading time if you are a lover of African studies
Richards translates sucessfully the complex background history of the current Sierra Leonean crisis into a quantified language suitable for further policy research and study on similar models. His threading ofSierra Leonean nation state history with the ongoing conflict makes hiswork more active.It is a great upgraded handbook for readers who seek tode-mystify the African learning experience. In that same light Richards'book lacks emotional connection with pan-African political ideology.

Read it.

I enjoyed this book, but had problems with certain analyses.
I feel that Richards' focus is to dispute Kaplan's New Barbarism theory, and for the most part is successful.He contends that the youth involved in the war point to political causes as their reason for fighting.This isthe crux of his argument, yet I feel his evidence is not necessarily inline with such a bold statement.Chapter Four outlines his findingsregarding how young people experience and react to war in contemporaryAfrica.While I agree that the New Barbarism theory does not consider thisaspect, I do not agree with Richards' argument that these young people whoare fighting the power are fully conscious of the political ramifications. My interpretations of Richards' interviews form my opinion, as I understoodmany of the young soldiers (particularly one named "Charlie") tohave joined based on sheer survival, not due to political loyalties.WhileRichards tediously delineates the conflict in Sierra Leone from any inklingof the New Barbarism theory, I find it difficult to follow his argumentfrom the angle of what is and what is not political.Part of providing acounterattack on a theory or supplying fodder for an original theory is todisprove the argument and then build yours.I feel Richards has dismantledNew Barbarism, but does not necessarily provide the reader with the propertools and equipment to rebuild it. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Interesting Account of Africa in the 18th century by a woman
Falconbridge details her travels to Sierra Leone and the establishment of the pioneering Freetown settlement founded by the Sierra Leone Company.The initial section of the narrative is dedicated to a description of her surroundings and the native culture as well as the circumstances of her first voyage.The narrative takes a different turn on her second voyage however, when she accuses the Sierra Leone Company of mishandling the colony and attempts to gain recompense for her hardships.This narrative is interesting in the context of British abolition and as an account of a European woman's experiences in Africa.Some of the material is a little dry, especially Alexander Falconbridge's testimonial which has been rehashed many times.Also, Anna Maria's response to African society is not surprising and yet the hardships that she overcomes in her travels are remarkable.The editorial commentary in this book is excellent and helpful in understanding this epistolary narrative in its context. ... Read more

Product Description
For more than a decade a vicious civil war has torn the fabric of society in the West African country of Sierra Leone, forcing thousands to flee their homes for refugee camps and others to seek peace and asylum abroad. Sierra Leoneans have established new communities around the world, in London, Paris, New York, Washington, D.C., and elsewhere. Yet despite the great geographic range of this diaspora and the diverse ethnic backgrounds among Sierra Leoneans settled in the same communities abroad, these Africans have come to understand and express their shared identity through religious rituals, social engagements, and material culture.

In An Imagined Geography, anthropologist JoAnn D'Alisera demonstrates persuasively that the long-held anthropological paradigms of separate, bounded, and unique communities, geographically located and neatly localized, must be reconsidered. Studying Sierra Leonean Muslims living in greater Washington, D.C., she shows how these immigrants maintain intense and genuine community ties through weddings, rituals, and travel, across both vast urban spaces and national boundaries. D'Alisera examines two primary issues: Sierra Leoneans' engagement with their homeland, to which they frequently traveled and often sent their children for upbringing until the outbreak of the civil war; and the Sierra Leonean interaction with a diverse, multicultural, increasingly global Muslim community that is undergoing its own search for identity.

Sierra Leoneans in America, D'Alisera observes, express a longing for home and the pain of disconnection in powerful narratives about their country and about their own displacement. At the same time, however, self and communal identity are shaped by a pressing need to affiliate in their adopted country with Sierra Leoneans of all ethnic and religious backgrounds and with fellow Muslims from other parts of the world, a process that is played out against the complex social field of the American urban landscape. ... Read more

Product Description
The primary objective of this book is to provide an analytical understanding of the nature, dynamics and complexity of the politics of economic regionalism through the prism of Sierra Leone in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The book also discusses the following issues: the evolution of economic regionalism in West Africa and the conceptual framework for analysis; the expansion of the economic regionalism; developments within the West Africa sub-region with that of the transformation of the global economy and international political system; political, economic and security developments within ECOWAS; and the civil war in Sierra Leone. ... Read more

Product Description
Webster's bibliographic and event-based timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on "Sierra Leone," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have Sierra Leone in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with Sierra Leone when it is used in proper noun form. Webster's timelines cover bibliographic citations, patented inventions, as well as non-conventional and alternative meanings which capture ambiguities in usage. These furthermore cover all parts of speech (possessive, institutional usage, geographic usage) and contexts, including pop culture, the arts, social sciences (linguistics, history, geography, economics, sociology, political science), business, computer science, literature, law, medicine, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and other physical sciences. This "data dump" results in a comprehensive set of entries for a bibliographic and/or event-based timeline on the proper name Sierra Leone, since editorial decisions to include or exclude events is purely a linguistic process. The resulting entries are used under license or with permission, used under "fair use" conditions, used in agreement with the original authors, or are in the public domain. ... Read more

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With environmental change and conservation in West Africa's tropical rainforests becoming topics of increasing political and academic interest, this book brings a fresh set of perspectives to the debate - thoseof the forest dwellers themselves.Based on her detailed field research in the Mende communities around Gola North Forest reserve, and surveying the recent debates and literature concerning forest conservations and current analytical approaches to gender and the environment, Melissa Leach examines the importance of rainforest resources to the local economy and social relations and shows that neither an understanding of forest use and change, nor adequate conservation policies can be achieved without a concern for gender. ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea in the north, Liberia in the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean in the southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of 71,740 km2 (27,699 sq mi) and has a population estimated at 5.2 million. The country is a former British Colony and is now a constitutional republic comprising three provinces and the Western Area, which are further divided into fourteen districts. The country has a tropical climate, with a diverse environment ranging from savannah to rainforests. Freetown is the capital, largest city and economic center. The other major cities are Bo, Kenema, Koidu Town and Makeni. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from The Geographical Journal, published by Royal Geographical Society on March 1, 1996. The length of the article is 7189 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the author: KEY WORDS: Sierra Leone, tropical agriculture, bush fallowing, management practices.

Citation Details
Title: The length of the fallow period in tropical fallow farming systems: a discussion with evidence from Sierra Leone.
Author: M.B. Gleave
Publication: The Geographical Journal (Refereed)
Date: March 1, 1996
Publisher: Royal Geographical Society
Volume: v162Issue: n1Page: p14(11)

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean located in the Western Area of the country and with a population of 1,070,200. The city is the economic and financial center of Sierra Leone. Many of the country's largest corporations locate their headquarters' home offices in Freetown as well as the majority of international companies. The city's economy revolves largely around its fine natural harbor, which is the largest natural harbor on the continent of Africa. Queen Elizabeth II Quay is capable of receiving oceangoing vessels and handles Sierra Leone's main exports. The city of Freetown was founded by Lieutenant John Clarkson and freed American slaves called the 'Nova Scotians' (also called the 'Settlers') who were transported to Sierra Leone by the Sierra Leone Company in 1792. Freetown is the oldest capital to be founded by freed American slaves, having been founded thirty years before Monrovia, Liberia. The oldest part of Freetown is Settler Town which was established by the Nova Scotians in 1792, after their namesake 'the Settlers'. ... Read more

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Many development programmes in the developing world have today been redirected in the name of poverty alleviation. However, what these programmes lack is an efficient monitoring system to track progress from poverty alleviation interventions.This work establishes a customized baseline poverty profile that will serve as a reference point for monitoringPoverty Reduction Strategy (PRSP).This work is especially suitable for developing countries that have devolved decades of Central Administrative Controls to Local and District Councils. Over the years, monetary parameters were used to assess rural poverty.This work uses non-monitoring indicators grouped into demographic, basic needs, assets, means of livelihood, social services and empowerment structures to determine poverty status of the population in an effort to evaluate the impact of development initiative. The analysis of this work should help local and district council officers to address the central issues in their effort at poverty alleviation. This work is especially useful also to Development Practitioners, Professionals in development and Administrators interested in eradicating poverty in the developing world. ... Read more