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Madame President: The Extraordinary Journey of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

Helene Cooper

4.25 · Rating details · 916 ratings · 153 reviews

BEST BOOKS of 2017 SELECTION by * THE WASHINGTON POST * NEW YORK POST *

The harrowing, but triumphant story of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, leader of the Liberian women’s movement, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, and the first democratically elected female president in African history.

When Ellen Johnson Sirleaf won the 2005 Liberian presidential election, she demolished a barrie ...more

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Hardcover, 320 pages

Published March 7th 2017 by Simon Schuster

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Mar 25, 2020 Diane S ☔ rated it really liked it

Shelves: nfr-2020

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Nobel Prize winner and the first democratically elected female President of an African country. What better role model to read about in March, the month devoted to women. Plus, my own country hasn't even managed to elect a female President.

Her life was not without struggles, she was in an abusive marriage, had four children p, three of which she had to leave. She was talented, educated and loved her country. She saw how unfair it was to women, rape culturally accepted, a ...more

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Mar 22, 2020 Chrissie rated it really liked it

Shelves: audible, leaders, medical, bio, history, 2020-read, feminism, liberia

Don’t miss this book.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, born 29 October 1938, served as President of Liberia from 2006 to 2018*. She was the first elected female head of state in Africa. In 2011 she won the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to fight for the safety and rights of women. In March 2014, during her second term in office, the Ebola virus spread into the country from Guinea. Ravaging Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, in May 2015 Liberia was the first of the three to be Ebola free. Learning from h Don’t miss this book.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, born 29 October 1938, served as President of Liberia from 2006 to 2018*. She was the first elected female head of state in Africa. In 2011 she won the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to fight for the safety and rights of women. In March 2014, during her second term in office, the Ebola virus spread into the country from Guinea. Ravaging Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, in May 2015 Liberia was the first of the three to be Ebola free. Learning from her mistakes, she remedied them and was quick to ask for international help.

The book moves forward chronologically. Ellen’s family background, her youth, education and marriage at seventeen are spoken of. At the age of twenty-two she already had four sons. Putting the kids with family relatives, husband and wife went off to America to further their education. Studying at Madison Business College in Wisconsin, she earned an associate degree in accounting. Returning to Liberia she began her career at the Treasury Department. She would later return to the US several times, continuing her education at the University of Colorado and Harvard and taking up posts at Citibank, Equator Bank, the World Bank and the UN.

Ellen’s father was of the Gola ethnic group, her mother of Kru-German background. With light skin and straight hair, her appearance grouped her with those of the higher ranking “Congo people”, rather than the darker skinned “country people”. Liberia, with its twenty-eight different ethnic groups, was class conscious. Ellen used to her advantage her mixed roots and did not hesitate to rely on the powerful world leaders she came to know.

From 1971 to 1974 and then from 1979 to 1980 Ellen worked under the Liberian President William Tolbert, first as Deputy Minister of Finance and then as Minister of Finance. After a coup d’état in 1980 Samuel Doe grabbed control. Tolbert was executed. Samuel Doe’s regime was repressive—corruption was rampant, rape was commonplace and atrocities the norm.

In 1989, the Liberian Civil War began; Charles Taylor crossing from the Ivory Coast into Liberia with rebel soldiers fought to oust Doe. Thereafter followed fourteen years of civil war. In 1997 Charles Taylor was elected president. Ellen had run against him but had lost. From 1999 to 2003, it was Taylor’s turn to be ousted; it wasn’t until 2003 that the civil war finally came to a close. 200,000 died during the civil war.

The years under Doe’s regime followed by the years of civil war left indelible scars on Ellen and those lucky enough to survive. The suffering endured by Liberian women was not to be forgotten. 70% had been raped. Ellen, imprisoned by Doe, saw up close women gang-raped. Locked in a cell, fearing she too would be violated, then gruesomely murdered, her attempt to comfort a woman who had been gang-raped is vividly told. Ellen learned from the experience. Women had strength and could provide valuable support to a leader. Women as a group, as a force to be contended with, began to evolve.

I’ll tell you why the book is so good. It is clear. From this book it is relatively easy to learn history. One is not drowned in unnecessary, excessive details, and yet all that you want and need to know is here. One’s interest never lags. The years of repression and the Ebola crisis are emotionally riveting. Ellen’s mistakes and accomplishments are noted. On completion of the book, that being when the Ebola crisis is over, you feel that you have an inkling of the kind of person Ellen is.

The audiobook is narrated by Marlene Cooper Vasilic. Her speech is clear. The pace is perfect. There are sections spoken in the Liberian English patois. Even these I could understand. Her narration I have given five stars. The narration is difficult; it is not so easy to speak of the atrocities committed.

I like this a lot. I have both learned a lot and been emotionally engaged. I highly recommend this book.

*The author of this book states that Ellen was the 23rd president. The information in Wiki differs. There it is stated that Moses Blah (1947-2013) was the 23rd, with Ellen the 24th president. Blah took office on August 11, 2003 and left on October 14, 2003.
SourceWiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preside... ...more

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Jan 17, 2017 Nancy rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley

Madame Presidentt, Helene Cooper's biography of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first female president of Liberia, was not an easy book to read. The history of Liberia is so horrendous, the violence so overwhelming, the suffering of her people unimaginable that I had to often step away; Cooper does not tidy things up for easy reading.

The story of Liberian female empowerment is remarkable, a courageous story from a country where an estimated 75% of the women have encountered rape and sexual abuse. El Madame Presidentt, Helene Cooper's biography of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first female president of Liberia, was not an easy book to read. The history of Liberia is so horrendous, the violence so overwhelming, the suffering of her people unimaginable that I had to often step away; Cooper does not tidy things up for easy reading.

The story of Liberian female empowerment is remarkable, a courageous story from a country where an estimated 75% of the women have encountered rape and sexual abuse. Ellen herself rose from abused wife to a Harvard education, from mother to leadership in the international banking industry, from working for a dictator to her democratic election as President.

Ellen made mistakes and learned from them. She made contacts and used them. She switched from 'bush' to Western as needed. But always she believed in a better Liberia, a fiscally sound and prosperous future, a land of peace.

Liberia was established by United States leadership as a way of dealing with the 'problem' of free African Americans. The idea was to buy land and establish a country where we could export slaves and free blacks back to Africa. John Quincy Adams was against this plan on the grounds that the free blacks were Americans and had a right to remain in their country of birth. But many slave owning presidents liked the plan, including Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe--for whom the Liberian capital Monrovia was named.

This book covers the series of brutal "presidential" dictators who siphoned public money for personal use, kept leadership in the family, and raised child armies to murder civilians--including their mothers--and rape their way across the country. The country's infrastructure was destroyed. The only way women fed their families was by going into the country to buy produce which they sold on the streets--the 'market women' who later organized, and by getting women out to vote, elected Ellen president.

Ellen's background in banking helped her secure loan relief, restoring solvency and the infrastructure--then Ebola arrived. Madame President called on President Obama to send aid. His quick response helped Liberia contain the outbreak, to the benefit of the country, the continent, and the world.

Reading about African history is a grim reminder of how tenuous maintaining a republic can be. It is also a reminder of how one person can make a difference, even a flawed person.

I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. ...more

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Jan 21, 2018 Dan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Five stars for content as Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was and is a very important figure in world history, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, a leader of Liberia and one tough triumphant person.

Four stars for drama. There is so much death and violence witnessed over the decades in war torn Liberia that the narrative seems at times numb to it. I have seen this same effect in a few WWII memoirs that I have read.

Three stars for the writing. I don’t know if the story was difficult to translate into English or s ...more

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Apr 22, 2020 Irene rated it really liked it

This is an extraordinary story, the first female head of state in modern Africa, winner of the Nobel Prize for Peace, a woman who steered her war ravaged, impoverished country onto the road of recovery. The author was obviously enamored of her subject. As a result, this was a decent introduction to this international figure, but definitely not close to a definitive biography. 3.5 stars

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Jun 12, 2018 Daniel Chaikin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-favorites

posted on Litsy:

This book is why I’m somewhat random in how I select audiobooks. It never occurred to me that Liberian history was so fascinating and awful, or that the transformation this woman represents could be so special on so many levels. So much to say. Extraordinarily and grotesque violence, 70% of women raped in a civil war before Sarleaf began rebuilding. And then Ebola. Special book, special person, terrific writing, great reader.

Liberia has an odd history where freed mixed-race Amer ...more

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Jun 18, 2020 SpookySoto rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: random-pick-project, aty52books-challenge, no-ficcion, paises-leido

Rating: I liked it a lot 😁
2020's ATY in 52 books: 29. An underrated book, a hidden gem or a lesser known book
June's 2020 random pick project
Reto Pecera 2020: Título con 20 Letras o más

I'm doing this challenge where I read a book written by an author, born and raised, in one of every country in the world. This month I decided to make things interesting and picked the country at random, the country I got was Liberia, I had never heard of that in my life. I googled it and was amazed that such a cou ...more

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Apr 28, 2017 Jean rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: biography, africa, president-bio, history, non-fiction, audio-book, women-s-rights, politics

As a public health professional, I was impressed how President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf handled the Ebola Crisis in Liberia (2013-2016). President Sirleaf has now launched a massive mental health program for the Ebola survivors. Liberia was just beginning to make some headway out of its horrible state when it was hit by the Ebola epidemic. I started looking for more information about her. I discovered she won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011.

This book not only provides the biography of Sirleaf but al As a public health professional, I was impressed how President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf handled the Ebola Crisis in Liberia (2013-2016). President Sirleaf has now launched a massive mental health program for the Ebola survivors. Liberia was just beginning to make some headway out of its horrible state when it was hit by the Ebola epidemic. I started looking for more information about her. I discovered she won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011.

This book not only provides the biography of Sirleaf but also provides a brief overview history of Liberia. Cooper tells the early life of Sirleaf, her marriage at seventeen and birth of four boys quickly thereafter. Cooper covers the horrible Civil War (1989-2003) and the imprisonment of Sirleaf and her near brushes with death. Cooper covers the horrible violence and carnage of the Civil War so readers need to be prepared. Sirleaf worked for the Liberian Treasury Department and then went on to work at the World Bank. She became an expert in government debt. When she was elected to the presidency two years after the Civil War ended, the country was 4.7 billion dollars in foreign debt. Sirleaf used her knowledge and contacts to get this debt forgiven; otherwise, the country would not be able to survive. I was shocked to hear how predatory funds buy up poor countries’ debt and then charge enormous amounts of interest; the countries are then unable to ever get out of debt. Sirleaf was the first democratically elected women president in Africa. She is now the longest serving female president. She has brought peace to the war-torn country.

The book is well written and meticulously researched. The author tends to present Sirleaf in a favorable mode. Cooper does cover the mistakes made by Sirleaf and also covers the various charges of corruption in her government and how she tried to correct it. The author also indicated that Sirleaf gave back to her opponents in the manner she was treated. Her opponents called her a United States imperial puppet. Cooper reveals what horrible things the women of Liberia endured to obtain their freedom and basic human rights. Cooper covers the native cuisine and culture of Liberia. The language is a mixture of English and Creole with British and American slang tossed in.
The story of Helene Cooper is also interesting. Her family fled the Civil War in Liberia when she was thirteen and came to America. She was educated in the United States and worked as a reporter at the New York Times where she won the Pulitzer Prize for her coverage of the Ebola Epidemic in West Africa.

I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is about thirteen hours long. Marlene Cooper Vasilic does an excellent job narrating the book. Vasilic does a great job with the Liberian manner of speech and patois. This book works best as an audiobook because of the accents and patois.
...more

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Mar 12, 2017 African Americans on the Move Book Club rated it it was amazing

Madame President by Helen Cooper is an inspiring read. Women everywhere will be awed at the work done by one woman, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. She has gone beyond any other woman of her time in a country that mistreated women as objects. Here, I got to follow the brave and clever woman as she rose from just a mother to a president of a nation. Going to prison, suffering like every other woman has done...,yet she managed to rise dispite the hardships that fell upon her. I was amazed. She kept on goin ...more

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Mar 28, 2020 Oleksandr Zholud rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is a biography of the first Liberian female president and Nobel prize winner Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. I’ve read is as a part of March/April monthly read at Non Fiction Book Club group.

There is a lot of history outside of the ‘west’ (Europe plus European colonies) about which we rarely hear and that’s a pity! One of such largely white spots on a historical map is Africa. Take as an example Liberia, the focal point of this book: a colony founded by free black (and Quakers) in Africa, who built ...more

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Aug 25, 2020 Emma Deplores Goodreads Censorship rated it really liked it

Shelves: africa, history, historical-women, 3-stars-and-a-half, biography, nonfiction, liberia

3.5 stars

I picked this book up primarily because I loved the author’s memoir, The House at Sugar Beach, about growing up in Liberia until political instability and terror forced her family to leave. This book, though, is a biography of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018 and the first democratically elected female head of state in Africa. It’s a good biography, readable and engaging as all the best journalistic work is, and certainly informative though it lacks the humo 3.5 stars

I picked this book up primarily because I loved the author’s memoir, The House at Sugar Beach, about growing up in Liberia until political instability and terror forced her family to leave. This book, though, is a biography of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018 and the first democratically elected female head of state in Africa. It’s a good biography, readable and engaging as all the best journalistic work is, and certainly informative though it lacks the humor and personal touch of Cooper’s memoir.

About the first quarter of this relatively short biography (290 pages) covers the first approximately 50 years of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s life, spending a few pages on her childhood before moving on to her marriage, higher education, subsequent divorce from her abusive husband (even though it meant no longer being able to raise most of their children), and her career as a financial bureaucrat. The second quarter focuses more on Liberia’s civil war and the years of coups and atrocities. Johnson Sirleaf was absent from Liberia for much of this time working for financial institutions abroad, but the reader needs to understand something of what was happening in the country to put her presidency in context. Finally, the last half covers her elections and presidency, though the book ends in 2015 and was published in 2017, before she actually left office.

The book is highly readable and offers a lot of explanation to readers who may not know anything about Liberia; Cooper is clearly adept at bridging two cultures. It is an admiring biography, and as far as I can tell an authorized one—Johnson Sirleaf allowed Cooper to follow her around and was interviewed for the book, though Cooper didn’t share her drafts—but Cooper also highlights areas where Johnson Sirleaf made poor or questionable choices. I wasn’t quite sure what to think about all her female supporters who stole their adult sons’ voter IDs to prevent them from voting for her clearly unqualified male opponent, for instance—interestingly to me, Liberian women seemed far more likely to vote for a candidate because of her gender than their American counterparts. But I was glad to see Cooper really dig into Johnson Sirleaf’s achievements in office: the chapter about how she managed to persuade other governments, multinational institutions and private companies to forgive Liberia’s $4.7 billion debt is fantastic and highlights a huge accomplishment that few others could possibly have achieved.

Meanwhile, other reviewers have mentioned that the book deals with some dark subject matter around Liberia’s civil war, and this is true though it isn’t the primary focus of the book. The last 35 pages mostly focus on the Ebola pandemic, which was interesting to read during another pandemic: there was a lot of initial denial around Ebola too, though once people accepted that it was real they seemed to do a good job of taking necessary precautions to wipe it out.

Ultimately, there’s a lot of good information in this book, but there’s more distance from its subject than I would have expected in a semi-authorized biography of someone who’s still alive: I didn’t get much sense of Johnson Sirleaf’s personality, what makes her tick, how the people close to her view her, etc. Maybe she didn’t want her personal life in a book, her family didn’t want to share, and Cooper decided to respect their wishes—hard to say. But while I still blew through the book in just a few days, I think I would have liked it even better with more personality. Cooper credits several people in the acknowledgments with making her ditch her “flip tone” and I wound up wishing she’d kept it. There are a few humorous bits, which were welcome.

But I’d certainly recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject, and Johnson Sirleaf is without doubt a tough and impressive woman, though (like everybody else) imperfect. Those who would like a more personal, in-depth and at times humorous story (with some overlapping subject matter) should check out the author’s memoir.

Only time will tell how to interpret events after the end of this book: Johnson Sirleaf stepped down in 2018, allowing for Liberia’s first peaceful transition of power in decades, but then the winner of that election was George Weah (the soccer player), whose vice president is Jewel Taylor (ex-wife of Charles Taylor, the war criminal). Hmm. I hope Cooper will keep on writing books about Liberia; I for one will be happy to keep reading them. ...more

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Mar 11, 2018 Diego rated it really liked it

Shelves: africa, biography-autobiography-memoir

This was my Women’s History Month selection, and what an inspiring selection this was. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf experienced what I wouldn’t think possible to become president of Liberia. It’s quite unbelievable the atrocities women were forced to accept as normal everyday life while in military rule. This abhorrent behavior is typical of military coups that end up with a paranoid and power hungry leader; they are not one for the people or the country’s interest. This has a lot to do with a lack of This was my Women’s History Month selection, and what an inspiring selection this was. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf experienced what I wouldn’t think possible to become president of Liberia. It’s quite unbelievable the atrocities women were forced to accept as normal everyday life while in military rule. This abhorrent behavior is typical of military coups that end up with a paranoid and power hungry leader; they are not one for the people or the country’s interest. This has a lot to do with a lack of knowledge of how to run a government once in power. Liberia had experienced many leaders like this for decades. Their fight for normalcy seemed insurmountable. I can’t even bring myself to summarize the normal day atrocities that women experienced. Absolutely unbelievable that humankind can act in this way.

But amidst the darkness of atrocity was the growing ember of fire that is Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and the Liberian women movement. Not many women in Liberia were educated, but she gave up family to travel to the US with a husband that abused her to get an education. She never turned her back on her country. She gave women hope and a voice when hope was no where to be found. The public answered in making her the first African woman president. As Madame President she worked feverishly to start from the beginning, which included getting 4.7 billion in her country’s debt relieved from multiple different debt owners. She and her cabinet of women started to clean the streets. Also enforced a law that many of us can’t even fathom would be necessary, but in Liberia it was finally time; to prosecute men who rape women. It’s hard to imagine that 75% of women had been raped or abused during a period of time there.

Madame President is inspiring to say the least. Her story should be spread more to inspire those without hope throughout the world. In the US we tend to think our internal problems are the center of the world, but really we don’t have as many issues as others in the world that need our continuous aid.

Madame President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is a prime example for Women’s History Month education. Simply incredible woman. ...more

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Jun 25, 2017 Emily rated it really liked it

I had the opportunity to hear Ellen Johnson Sirleaf speak in 2015 and was deeply impressed by her history, her presence, her decisiveness, her courage, her persistence. This book has only increased my admiration for her as a person, as a politician, and as a bureaucrat.

Trigger warning: violence, rape

**********

"In Liberia a woman's place is in the market, selling oranges and potato greens and kola nuts. It is in the hot outdoor kitchen, sweating as she bends over a mortar to pound fermented cass ...more

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May 19, 2019 Barb rated it really liked it

Shelves: book-club, history, nonfiction, biography

This was a fascinating read. The only things I really knew about Liberia before reading this was that it was founded by freed American slaves and that Charles Taylor was bad. This book, though it purports to be about Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, really is more the story of Liberia over the past few decades. Author and journalist Cooper delves into the workings of the Liberian government and the civil war, using Sirleaf as sort of a framing device.

Not realizing this while starting the book, I found it ...more

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Aug 06, 2017 Lorraine rated it it was amazing

Powerfully memoir on Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

A visionary who was not limited by circumstances, people nor her gender. A fighter, both literally and figuratively. A woman who took Liberia from obscurity, poverty, hunger and desease to a country slowly on the mend. Like a phoenix, Liberia rose from its war-torn ashes to rebuilding itself all because of one woman's vision and a whole lot of women who believed in her vision too.

A woman who fought with the system. Against the system. Within the system ...more

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Jan 20, 2021 quinnster rated it really liked it

I considered putting this one off for a bit because I felt run down and the idea of reading about civil war and a pandemic wasn't too appealing, but I'm glad I read this one.

While Cooper details incredible violence (coup, genital mutilation, gang rapes, civil war, mass murder to name a few) she intersperses these decades of unrest with humorous or inspiring anecdotes to keep things from getting too dark.

Madame President not only tells the story of a strong, but imperfect woman, it also tells th ...more

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Apr 08, 2018 Jeimy rated it it was amazing

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is the first female to be elected president of a country in Africa and one of three female African Nobel Laureates. Cooper’s book offers us glimpses into her childhood, but mostly focuses on her rise to fame as an economic expert and, ultimately, as president of Liberia. The author does not shy away from the controversies that surrounded Madame during her presidency, creating a well-rounded biography of the renowned icon.

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Jun 29, 2017 Rebecca Wilson rated it it was amazing

Shelves: war, histories, required-reading, in-africa

I generally avoid books about contemporary politics—they date themselves quickly, which makes me feel like they're a waste of my time; that's what the newspaper is for. This is not such a book. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is a bad-ass of breathtaking proportions. She was THE person to lead Liberia past the legacy of civil war and through the ebola crisis.

Likewise, Helene Cooper is THE person to have written this book. A world-renowned journalist and Liberian-American, her prose is direct and uncompl I generally avoid books about contemporary politics—they date themselves quickly, which makes me feel like they're a waste of my time; that's what the newspaper is for. This is not such a book. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is a bad-ass of breathtaking proportions. She was THE person to lead Liberia past the legacy of civil war and through the ebola crisis.

Likewise, Helene Cooper is THE person to have written this book. A world-renowned journalist and Liberian-American, her prose is direct and uncomplicated; she confronts her subject's flaws and serious missteps as well as her many amazing qualities; and she can shine a lot on all those bizarre, surreal, "only-in-Liberia" moments without coming across as jingoistic. She also has hilarious moments, mostly concentrated in the post-civil war, pre-ebola time period, like when George Weah's naked Italian cologne commercial went public. haha!

I listened to the audiobook, which I highly recommend. Like Sirleaf, the narrator Marlene Cooper Vasilic can switch seamlessly between Liberian English and American English. The texture and idiomatic nuances would have been lost on me had I read it.

If you read the newspaper sometimes during the 1990s and early 2000s, you probably already know that this book will contain a lot of disturbing descriptions of gang rape and child soldiers. This is the reality experienced by millions of people; it's difficult, but it's a good opportunity for (white, Western) readers to un-center our feelings and confront the extremes of humanity. In particular, I was horrified to see all the parallels with my own society. Things can go completely to shit awfully quickly. The United States may never have a Charles Taylor, but extremism in any form can crush society and the rule of law in the blink of an eye.

Neoliberalism as a movement is currently at its nadir, and I understand why. Classical liberalism and conservatism both seem so much more manageable, humane, and rational than our current world. I personally am deep in the grips of nostalgia for old-fashioned liberals and conservatives. This book provides an excellent antidote to those unhelpful emotions. Ellen Johnson Surleaf is a neoliberal through and through, and that's why she's been such a success. She stares the facts in the face and unabashedly asks for help. She's practical, and she's tough. This is a must-read. ...more

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Aug 13, 2018 Jo rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-about-africa

Hands down the best book I have read this year. What an incredible woman, who grew from a mother of four and victim of domestic violence into the first female president of an African country. This book on Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is also an ode to the power and resilience of women and what they can achieve when they pull together against a world of men who wage wars and let corruption fester. It is telling that when Ellen, with a degree in Public Administration, experience in the World Bank and Uni ...more

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Jun 27, 2017 Caroline rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2017_prose

All I really want to read right now are life stories of interesting women.

Helene Cooper's memoir 'The House at Sugar Beach' was one of the best books I read over the last few years. I wondered what she would write next and was excited it was this biography of the first woman elected as a head of state in Africa. Reading this was definitely enhanced by having read Cooper's own memoir about growing up in (and leaving and returning to) Liberia, and now that I've read 'Madame President' I have a muc ...more

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Dec 16, 2017 Kolumbina rated it it was amazing

An interesting story of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf who managed to win presidential election (in 2005)and became the first African woman president. Not only that she also received a Nobel Prize for peace in 2011. What a great and strong woman, a great person and a great president.
Before reading this book I didn't know too much about Liberia, life in Liberia, mistreatment of women and many other facts. I knew about outbreak of Ebola but didn't know in detail how much E. J. Sirleaf did for her country a ...more

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May 10, 2018 Tommie rated it liked it

Shelves: liberia

All biographies are written with a point of view. And this point of view was unabashedly pro-Sirleaf. Which is fine, the story was definitely told in a compelling way. However, sometimes the manipulation was too overt, and the point of view so interjected. For me, the clearest example was when describing Ellen's turn to politics as being inspired from sharing a cell with a rape victim, and saying that previously she had grown up wanting to be a teacher. Of course, by this point in Ellen's life, ...more

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Mar 10, 2017 Wendy Moniz rated it it was amazing

It was hard to read this book without thinking of the parallels between the US and Liberia during the recent election – minus the extreme violence and third world setting. Helene Cooper wrote an inspiring biography of a remarkable woman who overcame all odds to become president of Liberia. It should be required reading for anyone who thinks they can’t effect change. And men should take note. Look what happens when women mobilize. Nevertheless, she persisted.

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Jul 14, 2018 BookTrotter rated it really liked it

Shelves: biography, non-fiction, feminism, history, i-own-these

I was looking forward to reading this as I have a real connection to the content of this book. I served a Peace Corps Volunteer in Liberia and was evacuated during the Ebola epidemic. I was most interested to read what Helene Cooper had to say about that period of time and how Ma Ellen handled it.

The first part of the book was good, but I think it kind of glossed over and didn't go into as much detail about the different warring factions during the Civil War. If anyone enjoyed the content and w I was looking forward to reading this as I have a real connection to the content of this book. I served a Peace Corps Volunteer in Liberia and was evacuated during the Ebola epidemic. I was most interested to read what Helene Cooper had to say about that period of time and how Ma Ellen handled it.

The first part of the book was good, but I think it kind of glossed over and didn't go into as much detail about the different warring factions during the Civil War. If anyone enjoyed the content and wanted to learn more about this period of time, I would highly suggest reading Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's book "This Child Will Be Great". Her book has a lot more detail, but Cooper's book paired with this is a great balance as Cooper covered some stories that Sirleaf skimmed over (*cough* her direct support of Charles Taylor *cough*). I also suggest reading "Blood Diamond" by Greg Campbell as his book covers the civil war that erupted in neighboring Sierra Leone and how Charles Taylor played a part with that. After reading that, Helene Cooper's book will seem tame in the imagery and horrors that Charles Taylor committed.

The last part of the book covering Sirleaf's response to Ebola was pretty accurate although I wish Cooper had more information on Ebola i.e. it's origin and how you actually contract it. As a PSA for this, Ebola can only be contracted if someone is showing symptoms and if you come in contact with their bodily fluids. If someone is sick with it but show no signs, then you cannot get it. I do wish she expounded a bit more on how the Civil War, or as Liberian's refer to it as the 'Civil Conflict', really affected people's trust of the government and how deeply shattered the infrastructure is. Roads are beyond terrible, there are no news papers, there is radio, but not everyone has access to it and sometimes it's a game of telephone where not everything is correctly translated.
Helene Cooper also forgot to mention that roadblocks were set up at different parts of the country preventing any movement including trucks with food. This caused another sort of panic as food became scarce, reminiscent of the war. I wish she also talked about that yes, thousands of people died of Ebola, but countless more died from other diseases because hospitals had no room for them or were too scared to accept anyone, even pregnant women.

Essentially I highly suggest reading this book. There are many American's I'm sure who have no idea the connection between Liberia and the U.S. and I would highly recommend this book to help understand that relationship. ...more

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Mar 29, 2017 Precious Kerme added it

You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only option you are left with. To rise as a woman in this part of the world has been a taboo. Helene Cooper splendid compilation of this real life event does not only portray how EJS or Ma Ellen (as we call her) broke the taboo of a woman becoming president for an African country, neither did it only offset the notion held by men in Africa for ages that “a woman’s place is in the kitchen”, but it also displayed how any woman, no matter ...more

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Jan 30, 2018 Mandy rated it really liked it

The title says it all – hers was indeed an extraordinary journey. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf – from ordinary beginnings as a Liberian wife and mother (although in retrospect perhaps there was never anything ordinary about her) to President of Liberia and winner of the Nobel Peace prize. This is an excellent biography, meticulously researched and accessibly written, and the author is equally at home describing domestic detail as well as events of world importance and significance. I learnt so much tha ...more

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Mar 27, 2017 Diana C. Nearhos rated it really liked it

Shelves: on-physical-shelf, nonfiction

What an incredible story of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's life. I had not heard of her before picking up this book (I am woefully uninformed on all things African) and am very glad I have learned of her.
Cooper's story telling makes for a very easy read, even if you aren't accustomed to reading nonfiction. ...more

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May 07, 2019 John DiConsiglio rated it liked it

Shelves: 2019

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa’s first female president & a Nobel Prize winner, couldn’t have commissioned a more flattering bio than Pulitzer Prize-winner Cooper’s adoring profile. It’s all about her indomitable willpower as she survives coups, prison, near-execution & Ebola. Complications need not apply. The too–conversational tone (please, please, stop calling her “Monkey”) can make this feel like history-lite, even as it keeps the story moving. Brisk, not bold. Fans won’t mind.

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Feb 01, 2018 Ryan Moore rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A fantastic biography about the first female president in Africa. She is extremely interesting.

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Sep 11, 2017 David rated it it was amazing

Because of my good friends, Carney and Ophelia Johnson, I've had the privilege to meet Madam President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia. Ophelia had our delegation of six staying at the Todee Mission School, and when Madam President asked us where we were staying she sighed and rolled her eyes at Ophelia for keeping us in the rudimentary lodging. Reading this book, I'm so delighted to have stayed at Todee, privileged to have had the generator on all night, just so my wife and I could have an ele ...more

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About Helene Cooper

Helene Cooper

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Helene Cooper is a Liberian-born American journalist who is a White House correspondent for the New York Times. Previous to that, she was the diplomatic correspondent for the paper based in Washington, D.C.. She joined the Times in 2004 as assistant editorial page editor.
At The Wall Street Journal, Cooper wrote about trade, politics, race and foreign policy at the Washington and Atlanta bureaus fr ...more

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“They walked, some of them for miles, from rural villages deep in the bush. They came in wheelbarrows, in wheelchairs. They came with babies on their back. They came the night before, some of them sleeping on the hard ground outside the polling booths so they could vote when morning came. The” — 3 likes

“The family sought solace at an aunt’s house, and Grace-tee’s forty-eight-year-old mother went out to forage for food. She was quickly accosted by Johnson’s soldiers, ran from them, and in running, terrified, she had a heart attack. Eventually someone brought her home, and Grace-tee and her father took her to Redemption Hospital, but there were no beds. Soon she died.” — 0 likes

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