What readers think of A Long Way Gone, plus links to write your own review.

I am so deeply touched by the book. I keep pondering on one single question...how does one regain their humanity after going through such pain and sorrow. I have been through the war myself, not to the extent that Ishmael has. I commend him for bringing this out in the open, i can only imagine how much guts it took to write a story like this. He is a proven example that no matter what you through in life, there is always a chance of things getter better and brighter...there is always a second chance.

This book is one of the best I had read. War is always introduced by grown people, but children are the first one who suffer. I know that because I was victim of war, not as Ishmael Beah, but still that I suffer from it and it led me to really understand the message that Ishmael is conveying to the entire world in this book.

This is a very important book that I believe everyone should read before contemplating waging war on any country. What makes this book so compelling is the portrayal of this young boy born in 1980 enjoying all of the same activities that my own son born in 1980 was engaging in before the war reached his village. As I read this biography I was incredibly touched by the honesty that Ishmael Beah is able to express. This book breaks through any delusions that war is glamorous or that being in combat is a good way to distinguish oneself. Survival in such circumstances is ugly, terrifying and no one lives up to the fantasy of heroism. The personal aftermath of any war is marked with mental illness, addictions and broken lives. Ishmael Beah may be one of the most important spokesman for peace of the 20th century.