Sierra Leone

by David Harris (contributor)

A new political history of the former British colony in West Africa.

Genres: Africa, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 2013

About the author

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Reviews

[Alastair]

For a "solid point of entry" for those who wish to know about Sierra Leone (according to the blurb) this book expects a remarkable amount of prior knowledge. I struggled to gain much out of this book because so much is taken for granted. As a result, this book cannot be recommended to anyone bar those with a good knowledge of Sierra Leone already - though for them the brevity of the book (a mere 180 pages) might result in the opposite problem, viz. that the book adds too little that is not already known. Whatever the case for the well-informed, for the novice this book is a must-miss.

To give just two examples of the sorts of things that are almost tailor made to trip up the Sierra Leone greenhorn: a huge number of political parties and highly-similar abbreviations are introduced in the opening couple of chapters but are never spelled out again, making it extremely challenging for the reader with no familiarity with them to follow what's going on. A second example is how the 1967 coup is mentioned in passing without even remotely explaining what happened. I ultimately pieced together what the events were and the relevance of the coup but with precious little support from the book itself.

Overall, I cannot help but be irked by how little extra effort would be required by author David Harris to solve this issue. A quick summary of the events over the period covered in a chapter before his focus - the political dimension - comes centre stage, would do wonders. Add in a few brief explanations in brackets to keep the reader on track, and maybe the odd adjective like 'the southern-dominant SLPP party' (or that sort of thing) would be so helpful and hardly a deterrent to those who know more.

I did, despite all this, find something of interest in this book. The final paragraphs in each chapter tended to be very illuminating, partly a result of the comparative opacity of what went before but they were certainly appreciated. In addition, Harris provided a lot of food for thought in the form of balanced criticisms of the legacy of colonialism as well as broader comparisons between Sierra Leone and other African states.

Perhaps all this would possibly have resulted in a three-star review if the writing wasn't so dreadfully clunky. Join me, if you will, in trying to follow these gems:

If state-building can be described as rapid and economic planning as largely state-led in immediate post-colonial Africa, then despite the conservative nature of the SLPP government Sierra Leone was very much part of this drive, in line with contemporaneous global economic discourse.

Or how about:

Reciprocity and the urgent needs of ordinary people mean that the public – as well as those in the state – plays a considerable role in the system, but as it is coupled with an inbuilt gross unfairness and lack of transparency, the public has at the same time a rather ambivalent attitude towards it.

Overall, Sierra Leone: A Political History is a dense, academically-focussed read that should never have been marketed to anyone without a grounding in Sierra Leonean history. Throw in a generally turgid style coupled with frequent, bafflingly unclear sentences and I’m not even sure this would score much higher if reviewed purely from an academic standpoint.

[Redmar Leeuwendal]

I started reading this book without any real knowledge on Sierra Leone and I should not have. Having just finished the book, only the conclusion made sense to me. All chapters are filled with abbreviations that were maybe explained once or not explained at all. Keeping track of all the names, parties, abbreviations and numbers was impossible. On top of that, Harris his writing style is extremely academic, which is not necessary at all for such a book.

The conclusion was nice and there were some passages that inspired me but overall, a way too
technical and academic work, not suited for anyone wanting to learn a bit about Sierra Leone. This one is for the Africanists.

[Jeanette]

Reading Sierra Leone: A Political History by David Harris has been such an interesting experience. It is an academic read that requires patience and curiosity.

My journey to understanding Sierra Leone is deeply personal, and I know it will continue to be a lifelong process shaped by experience, conversation, and more reading.

For anyone interested in reading this book, I would encourage you to approach it with curiosity and patience. Sierra Leone’s political history is complex and, at times, heavy. Having some knowledge of political systems across continental Africa can help provide additional context and fill in some of the gaps.

And don’t be afraid to pull up a map or search an unfamiliar political reference as you go. I certainly have.

[Mike Bright]

This is a thorough history of Sierra Leone as an independent country. There is a bit of a lead-up with colonial history, but it primarily concentrates post-1951. Dr. Harris does not simplify anything, as Sierra Leone is a complex country with complex problems and a complex history. I learned a lot. However, the number of acronyms was sometimes tedious as I had to regularly look back to see what they meant. That said, I am currently reading another partial history of Sierra Leone, and the new book is kind of a breeze after learning from Dr. Harris.