A Long Way Gone

I just finished reading the book "A Long Way Gone", by Ishmael Beah. It's a memoir about growing up in Sierra Leone. There was a civil war that went on there for a long time, and he was a child soldier.

The book was very interesting. It's written very much as recounting of the events starting with his normal childhood through his time in the war, rehabilitation, and escape to the U.S. It isn't really written as a story to pull you in, though, which was interesting. I think it could have been much more gripping and upsetting. It surely is disturbing, but it keeps the reader a bit removed the whole time,. Overall, I would recommend reading it - it's not long and does provide good insight into an important period in history as well as some understanding about child soldiers - who are still used now in a number of conflicts.