The House on Sugar Beach Helene Cooper 2009 |
Cooper is a direct descendant of the first black Americans who migrated to Liberia in the 1820s to establish a haven for freed blacks. Elijah Johnson, her maternal ancestor and Randolph Cooper, her paternal ancestor, were pioneers in the Back to Africa movement with help from the British government to start over in West Africa. Within a few years, the new settlers succeeded in not only building a new community, but became the ruling class with all of the privileges and advantages that came with it. A class divide emerged and the newcomers were deemed "Congo" while the natives were called "Natives" or the derogatory term "Country." Cooper's family lived in a twenty-two room mansion by the sea called Sugar Beach replete with servants and a privileged life that included private schools and a summer home in Spain. Her father was a government official and many other family members had positions of power in the cabinet. When Cooper was nine years-old, her family took in a girl from the Bassa tribe to be a companion to Cooper and her younger sister, Marlene. It was common practice for Congo people to "adopt" Native children; the Congo family got help and the Native child was taken out of impoverished conditions and given an education. Eunice was an integral part of the family for the most part but when a coup occurred in 1982, Cooper's family fled Liberia, leaving Eunice behind. The Natives, after years of oppression and unable to rise above their station in life, decided to take matters in their own hands, wrestling power away from the Congo elite. Cooper's acclimation to the United States was a culture shock and like many immigrants, her family's lifestyle drastically changed. Her family first moved to Tennessee where she had difficulty making friends. It was in college that she came into her own and eventually became a journalist working for several prominent newspapers including The Washington Journal and The New York Times. It was over twenty years before Cooper set foot on Liberian soil and reunited with her long lost sister, Eunice. Reviewed by Dera Williams |
Cleopatra: A Live Stacy Schiff 2010 |
Ms. Schiff brings to vivid life a very different Cleopatra from the one depicted to us by playwrights and movie directors. Instead of a wanton seductress relying solely upon her looks, Cleopatra was one of the most authoritative rulers in the history of humanity, inheriting at the age of 18 one of the greatest kingdoms ever known, during a time in history when women had about the same social stature as farm animals. Ms. Schiff is a wordsmith extraordinaire. In beautifully constructed prose, Ms. Schiff paints a lovely, nuanced portrait of a great and vastly misunderstood woman. And what life the author brings to ancient Egypt too! The descriptions of the ancient world in which Cleopatra lived were so vivid that you would think the author was Cleopatra's contemporary, and not her 21st century biographer. Reviewed by Pugnacious Reilly |
West with the Night Beryl Markham 1982 |
Markham's West with the Night was originally published in the early 1940s and disappeared, only to be rediscovered and reprinted in the 1980s when it became a smash hit. Though Markham is known for setting an aviation record for a solo flight across the Atlantic from East to West-hence the title-she was also a bush pilot in Africa, sharing adventures with Blor Blixen and Denys Finch-Hatton of Out of Africa fame. Hemingway, who met Markham during his safari days, dubbed the book "bloody wonderful."
Reviewed by Library Journal |
King Peggy: An American Secretary, Her Royal Destiny Peggielene Bartels 2012 |
Peggy Bartels was a Ghanaian-American woman, working a demanding secretarial job at the Ghanaian embassy in D.C. Separated from her husband, her life outside work was minimal. Then she got a middle-of-the-night call telling her that she'd been elected king of her ancestral village in Ghana -- a village she'd only visited a few times. Should she accept the offer? Well, of course she should and does, and thankfully we now have this wonderful memoir to read. Peggy saves up her money and goes back to visit her family in Ghana and be installed as king. Naturally she finds that much is not as it should be. And, as we readers expect (but some of the people back in Ghana don't), Peggy shakes things up. Humorous, touching, informative, and totally enjoyable. Reviewed by Silicon Valley Girl |
A House n the Sky
Amanda Lindhout and Sara Corbett 2014 |
This staggering, well written memoir runs the gamut from beauty and wonder to despair and depravity. We hear about the chaos and civil war in Somalia, mostly from afar and through the lens of piracy stories, but this book throws the whole thing into searing personal perspective in the tale of two travelers who were kidnapped and held for ransom by fundamentalist mercenaries. Amanda Lindhout's autobiographical tales of growing up in Canada and traveling to far-flung regions pre-Somalia are fascinating enough and extremely well rendered in crisp, engaging prose. But it's when her travels go disastrously, devastatingly wrong that this story kicks into high gear and your knuckles turn white as you turn page after heart-wrenching page. Of course, the author's survival of the many ordeals she was put through are a given, but they don't make the vividly told tale any less hair raising, as page after page you hope beyond hope that this will be the page in which she is set free. When she finally is, you would forgive the author for being a wrecked shell of a human being who retreats from the world in all of it's ugliness to lick her wounds. But instead, you learn that she has the compassion of a Buddha and is actually doing charitable work geared towards education women in Somalia. Amazing, amazing, amazing...
Reviewed by dawgdish "djjagdi" |
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Hatshepsut—the daughter of a general who usurped Egypt's throne and a mother with ties to the previous dynasty—was born into a privileged position in the royal household, and she was expected to bear the sons who would legitimize the reign of her father’s family. Her failure to produce a male heir was ultimately the twist of fate that paved the way for her improbable rule as a cross-dressing king. At just over twenty, Hatshepsut ascended to the rank of pharaoh in an elaborate coronation ceremony that set the tone for her spectacular reign as co-regent with Thutmose III, the infant king whose mother Hatshepsut out-maneuvered for a seat on the throne. Hatshepsut was a master strategist, cloaking her political power plays in the veil of piety and sexual reinvention. Just as women today face obstacles from a society that equates authority with masculinity, Hatshepsut shrewdly operated the levers of power to emerge as Egypt's second female pharaoh.
Hatshepsut successfully negotiated a path from the royal nursery to the very pinnacle of authority, and her reign saw one of Ancient Egypt’s most prolific building periods. Scholars have long speculated as to why her monuments were destroyed within a few decades of her death, all but erasing evidence of her unprecedented rule. Constructing a rich narrative history using the artifacts that remain, noted Egyptologist Kara Cooney offers a remarkable interpretation of how The Woman Who Would Be King
Kara Cooney
2014 Hatshepsut rapidly but methodically consolidated power—and why she fell from public favor just as quickly. The Woman Who Would Be King traces the unconventional life of an almost-forgotten pharaoh and explores our complicated reactions to women in power.
Hatshepsut successfully negotiated a path from the royal nursery to the very pinnacle of authority, and her reign saw one of Ancient Egypt’s most prolific building periods. Scholars have long speculated as to why her monuments were destroyed within a few decades of her death, all but erasing evidence of her unprecedented rule. Constructing a rich narrative history using the artifacts that remain, noted Egyptologist Kara Cooney offers a remarkable interpretation of how The Woman Who Would Be King
Kara Cooney
2014 Hatshepsut rapidly but methodically consolidated power—and why she fell from public favor just as quickly. The Woman Who Would Be King traces the unconventional life of an almost-forgotten pharaoh and explores our complicated reactions to women in power.
It has been a long time since I have been so moved by a book. Aimee Molloy's However Long the Night is a powerful biography focusing on the tireless efforts of Molly Melching who has worked for decades in Senegal to educate and improve the lives of the women and children of villages across the nation.
Melching originally traveled to Senegal as part of a graduate program study abroad, and was looking forward to learning about the culture and people. What she hadn't planned on was the cancellation of the program. After convincing the university to allow her to study, Melching couldn't help but fall in love with all that Senegal offered. Rather than returning home, however, Melching extends her stay and secures a position as an Peace Corps employee. She starts a school to teach the local children, focusing on them reading stories that reflect their own culture and language, rather than stories of European children who share little with their Senegalese peers. This venture quickly leads to another and before Melching knows it, she has embedded herself into the Senegal culture, learned the language, and established an NGO named Tostan to help educate the women and children of the nation. While she set out to improve the quality of life, it becomes apparent that one issue needs attention - that of FGC (female genital cutting). Remarkably, after much effort, and devoted educational efforts Melching and the women of the villages begin to notice a change in the FGC tradition. The women feel empowered, and slowly begin to convince others that a change is needed.
This powerful book is inspiring, engaging, and insightful. I read it in one sitting, fascinated that I had gone so long knowing so little about Melching and the FGC crisis in Senegal.
Reviewed by shelfish
Melching originally traveled to Senegal as part of a graduate program study abroad, and was looking forward to learning about the culture and people. What she hadn't planned on was the cancellation of the program. After convincing the university to allow her to study, Melching couldn't help but fall in love with all that Senegal offered. Rather than returning home, however, Melching extends her stay and secures a position as an Peace Corps employee. She starts a school to teach the local children, focusing on them reading stories that reflect their own culture and language, rather than stories of European children who share little with their Senegalese peers. This venture quickly leads to another and before Melching knows it, she has embedded herself into the Senegal culture, learned the language, and established an NGO named Tostan to help educate the women and children of the nation. While she set out to improve the quality of life, it becomes apparent that one issue needs attention - that of FGC (female genital cutting). Remarkably, after much effort, and devoted educational efforts Melching and the women of the villages begin to notice a change in the FGC tradition. The women feel empowered, and slowly begin to convince others that a change is needed.
This powerful book is inspiring, engaging, and insightful. I read it in one sitting, fascinated that I had gone so long knowing so little about Melching and the FGC crisis in Senegal.
Reviewed by shelfish
I've often wondered what draws people to save the world by traveling around the globe and offering aid to those in other countries. While it sounds xenophobic, I've often thought that with all the needs in our own nation, why go somewhere else and why would you think you can make a difference.
That's what led me to Chasing Chaos by Jessica Alexander. While I can't say that the book answers all of my questions, it does an excellent job in providing information and a personal experience that I found informative, thought-provoking and important. Ms. Alexander has spent considerable time in places in Africa, Haiti and other locales and has provided an excellent account and analysis of foreign aid and the world of NGOs, the U.N. and disaster recovery efforts.
Her description and re-telling of her time in Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Haiti were excellent and I feel much better informed after reading it. I recommend this book wholeheartedly. Ms. Alexander walks the lines between autobiographer, journalist and scholar in this book and the end product is exceptional
reviewed by John Staniford
That's what led me to Chasing Chaos by Jessica Alexander. While I can't say that the book answers all of my questions, it does an excellent job in providing information and a personal experience that I found informative, thought-provoking and important. Ms. Alexander has spent considerable time in places in Africa, Haiti and other locales and has provided an excellent account and analysis of foreign aid and the world of NGOs, the U.N. and disaster recovery efforts.
Her description and re-telling of her time in Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Haiti were excellent and I feel much better informed after reading it. I recommend this book wholeheartedly. Ms. Alexander walks the lines between autobiographer, journalist and scholar in this book and the end product is exceptional
reviewed by John Staniford
This book is a must-read. I have seldom (if ever) read a book that brought me to tears every few chapters. Kennedy's incredibly difficult life is a story in and of itself, but his ability to have hope in spite of all of the difficulties he faced is inspiring and uplifting. The flow of the book is marvelous as Kennedy and Jessica's stories are intertwined to come together into their wonderful dream. Facing a life of abject poverty in one of the largest slums in Kenya, Kennedy found faith in others that their lives could be changed. And when Jessica was added to the formula after a college semester abroad, they became the fantastic team that continues to move this wonderful organization forward. Block out some time to read this book, as it is very difficult to put down, as you wonder what else could happen to these two. Very well written. A delightful story in so many ways. Please read it!!
Reviewed by Ronald Hoffman
Reviewed by Ronald Hoffman
Madame President: the Extraordinary Journey of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Helen Cooper 2017 |
Helene Cooper’s fascinating new book, Madame President, made me think of my friend, the global girl rights advocate Chernor Bah (Ceebah). Chernor recently waged a vigorous campaign calling on the government of Sierra Leone to overturn what he called “an unfair and unsound” ban against pregnant girls from attending school. Thousands of girls had become pregnant during the Ebola crisis that recently devastated Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea and as schools were reopening, the government of Sierra Leone announced that pregnant girls should stay home. Chernor’s argument was that, apart from the injustice of banning victims of the Ebola epidemic from school, pregnancy was not a disease and that these girls had the right to remain in school and could still achieve their fullest potentials. He should probably have just bought Madam President for the officials in Sierra Leone- who unfortunately stuck to their position and refused to let pregnant girls attend school. They would have met a certain female, Baby Ellen, nicknamed Red Pumpkin who, at the age of 17, had her first child and by the time she was 24, she had added three more kids. Still, she did not drop out of school. Rather, she had an insatiable appetite for a better education. Unlike those girls who were denied the chance to return and complete their exams during the Ebola epidemic, Madame President reveals Ellen’s motivation may have been derived from a prophesy by a man who once visited their Benson Street residence in the Liberian capital, Monrovia and announced that this child (Baby Ellen) would be great. Reviewed by Osman S |
Beneath the Tamarind Tree Isha Sesay 2019 |
Think back several years ago and you will recall hearing and seeing in the news the horrific story of the Nigerian school girls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram. For a time the hashtag #Bringbackourgirls circulated on social media. As news stories do, this event eventually was replaced by other stories. The recently published book Beneath the Tamarind Tree: A Story of Courage, Family, and the Lost School Girls of Boko Haram by Isha Sesay returns to this heart-wrenching story.
Isha Sesay is uniquely situated to tell this story for several reasons. To begin, while employed with CNN she reported this story from the ground and interacted with both the girls and their families. As such she had formed relationships with them and was able to tell their stories. Beyond her access via CNN, as a native of Sierra Leone, Sesay also approaches these events from the perspective of an African woman. As she indicates frequently throughout the book, this could have been her story if it not for her privileged upbringing. Reviewed by Leslie S |