false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255974419m/2643182.jpg 2643182 8 Helene Cooper is "Congo," a descendant of two Liberian dynasties -- traced back to the first ship of freemen that set sail from New York in 1820 to found Monrovia. Helene grew up at Sugar Beach, a twenty-two-room mansion by the sea. Her childhood was filled with servants, flashy cars, a villa in Spain, and a farmhouse up-country. It was also an African childhood, filled with knock foot games and hot pepper soup, heartmen and neegee. When Helene was eight, the Coopers took in a foster child -- a common custom among the Liberian elite. Eunice, a Bassa girl, suddenly became known as "Mrs. Cooper's daughter." For years the Cooper daughters -- Helene, her sister Marlene, and Eunice -- blissfully enjoyed the trappings of wealth and advantage. But Liberia was like an unwatched pot of water left boiling on the stove. And on April 12, 1980, a group of soldiers staged a coup d'état, assassinating President William Tolbert and executing his cabinet. The Coopers and the entire Congo class were now the hunted, being imprisoned, shot, tortured, and raped. After a brutal daylight attack by a ragtag crew of soldiers, Helene, Marlene, and their mother fled Sugar Beach, and then Liberia, for America. They left Eunice behind. A world away, Helene tried to assimilate as an American teenager. At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill she found her passion in journalism, eventually becoming a reporter for the <I>Wall Street Journal</i> and the <I>New York Times</i>. She reported from every part of the globe -- except Africa -- as Liberia descended into war-torn, third-world hell. In 2003, a near-death experience in Iraq convinced Helene that Liberia -- and Eunice -- could wait no longer. At once a deeply personal memoir and an examination of a violent and stratified country, <I>The House at Sugar Beach</i> tells of tragedy, forgiveness, and transcendence with unflinching honesty and a survivor's gentle humor. And at its heart, it is a story of Helene Cooper's long voyage home. 2667918 2 9 2008 The House at Sugar Beach: A Memoir total:923|5:189|4:431|3:248|2:47|1:8| 923 3515 2008 325 4 2 false false Wed Oct 15 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 16 08:09:08 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 16 08:15:07 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 2 false false Mon Mar 24 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Mar 25 10:17:10 -0700 2008 Tue Mar 25 10:33:36 -0700 2008
Ms. Cooper's memoir is gentle and wry, which is probably pretty difficult to do when you are writing about one...more...]]> 4 1 false false Fri Sep 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 31 06:40:22 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 05 16:01:38 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 2 false false Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 10 12:23:52 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 10 12:25:47 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 3 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Nov 10 08:59:06 -0800 2008 Fri Nov 21 16:54:21 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 2 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Mar 19 09:09:09 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 19 09:13:42 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 1 true false Mon Jan 26 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 13 06:19:24 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 26 09:02:09 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Fri Oct 03 08:21:29 -0700 2008 Fri Oct 03 08:21:39 -0700 2008 more...]]> 1 1 false false Sun Nov 16 10:17:58 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 27 09:31:49 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 17 08:54:52 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 17 10:11:25 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Oct 11 17:41:38 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 11 17:56:21 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Aug 26 21:05:32 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 26 21:36:12 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Oct 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 03 08:35:05 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 04 14:44:31 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 20 04:09:28 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 22 03:54:38 -0700 2009 Helene Cooper conta a sua história de uma forma nua e crua, nada romanceada. Ela fala-nos dos seus antepassados, de tudo o que fizeram aquando da abolição da escravatura e como foram para África, formando a Libéria. Na 1º Parte da história ficamos a conhecer os antepassados de He...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Apr 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 10 06:50:25 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 10 06:52:00 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Apr 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 08 05:28:16 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 10 07:08:18 -0700 2009
The book touches many issues that could generate interesting dis...more...]]> 0 0 false false Thu Feb 05 09:59:54 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 05 09:59:54 -0800 2009 In her warm, conversational tone, Helene Cooper vividly evokes the sights, sounds, and smells of Liberia for readers as she describes the customs, history, and culture of her native land. Indeed, she has a great deal of background information to convey to Western readers unfamiliar with the country,...

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This memoir is written by a woman descended from the premier founding families of Liberia. She was quite privileged and a...more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=2643182