A Long Way Gone

Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

By: Ishmael Beah

Narrated by: Ishmael Beah

Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

In A Long Way Gone Ishmael Beah tells a riveting story in his own words: 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.

This is how wars are fought now by children, hopped up on drugs, and wielding AK-47s. In the more than fifty violent conflicts going on worldwide, it is estimated that there are some 300,000 child soldiers.

Ishmael Beah used to be one of them. How does one become a killer? How does one stop? Child soldiers have been profiled by journalists, and novelists have struggled to imagine their lives. But it is rare to find a first-person account from someone who endured this hell and survived.

This is a rare and mesmerizing account, told with real literary force and heartbreaking honesty.

©2007 Ishmael Beah (P)2007 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“A Long Way Gone is one of the most important war stories of our generation. The arming of children is among the greatest evils of the modern world, and yet we know so little about it because the children themselves are swallowed up by the very wars they are forced to wage. Ishmael Beah has not only emerged intact from this chaos, he has become one of its most eloquent chroniclers. We ignore his message at our peril.” —Sebastian Junger, author of A Death in Belmont and A Perfect Storm

“This is a beautifully written book about a shocking war and the children who were forced to fight it. Ishmael Beah describes the unthinkable in calm, unforgettable language; his memoir is an important testament to the children elsewhere who continue to be conscripted into armies and militias.” —Steve Coll, author of Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001, winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for general Nonfiction

“A Long Way Gone hits you hard in the gut with Sierra Leone's unimaginable brutality and then it touches your soul with unexpected acts of kindness. Ishmael Beah's story tears your heart to pieces and then forces you to put it back together again, because if Beah can emerge from such horror with his humanity in tact, it's the least you can do.” —Jeannette Walls, author of The Glass Castle: A Memoir

Nothing Like It

I picked up this audiobook after discovering that my ancestors are from the Mende tribe of Sierra Leone. Wanting to hear what it is like there, I said let me give this story a shot (no pun intended). And wow. To hear the chronology of events that took place FROM the author himself. Ismael Beah does an incredible job of taking the listener through this emotional Rollercoaster. Job. Well. Done.

One day.... One day I will meet him and thank him in person. And another day, I will visit the land of my ancestors, Sierra Leone.

A long way gone = intense

Loved it. This was an amazing story, told firsthand by former child soldier Ishmael Bean. I would highly recommend this title. Now to start Beahs next title.

it was great!

I loved that it was the actual author telling it in his accent. On some parts I could truly feel the emotion while he told his story

hear the story from the man who lived it

With protagonist, narrator, and author all the same person, this human tragedy can't be missed.

Lost childhoods--so sad

Good narration and detailed report of young soldiers experience Left me with a deeper knowledge of conflict and tragedy in Sierra Leone

one of the best books I've ever read.

i first read this book for a school book report but didnt finish it. I finally was able to finish the book and its one of my favorites! Amazing job Mr. Beah!!

A Horrific Story of War in Africa

Taken on a life journey of a child soldier, I was horrified at the transformation of an innocent child who danced to his cassette tapes with his friends to a heartless soldier willing to take a life without much thought and at such a young age. I was angry when I learned he had a home in my country; how could our immigration system let in someone with his past to live in our neighborhoods? I feared for my countrymen with his presence. I continued to listen to the story, disgusted by the behavior of the boy soldiers and their treatment of people who were helping them. I tried to put myself in their shoes. Would I be different under the same circumstances? I would be, I thought, but how would I know? I continued to listen.

The boy soldier is reintroduced to extended family and given a second chance at his childhood. Still I wondered. It wasn’t until he made the effort to escape being forced to serve in the military again and his concern for how his foster mother might fear him, that I believed he might have changed.

There were times I wondered about the truthfulness of this story because I felt there were details left out to intentionally improve the author’s image given the gravity of the crimes against innocent people that he committed. In my research, I discovered there are questions about the details but more along the timeline. I still believe there was more to the story of what his group of soldiers did to people than he shared. The whole thing breaks my heart. I think of the innocent people caught in the war, raped and murdered for their food and of the lost innocence of the children forced to fight to survive and who ultimately grew to make a game of taking other people’s lives. I feel extremely fortunate not to have faced anything like this in my own life, so how can I judge without the experience?

Ishmael Beah is AMAZING

What I loved the most is the story made me feel a deep sense of understanding even though I have never gone though anything like this.

expertly written and narrated

beautifully told story of a difficult subject showing love and loss and terror and healing.

Heavy and sad, but hopeful

I've always been drawn to nonfiction, so was interested in listening to this book for a long time, finally doing so on a long hike to complete from start to finish in one go. There have been a lot of complaints about Beah embellishing many parts, but I think the overall message combined the stories of many people. So, to me that was the point. The writing style was at times difficult, and I found myself cringing after awhile every time I heard the phrase,"it was as if...". It was as if (yes, I just had to) Beah was just trying to outright shock you like a horror film more than tell his story from a deep place in his traumatized soul. And though at times it was also hard to understand, the narration needed to come from someone who had lived through the conflict. If you're interested in learning more about what happened in Sierra Leone - more people need to - this book provides a powerful perspective.