My First Coup d'Etat Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, A Brief History of Ghana and our BookBrowse Review of My First Coup d'Etat.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. Mahama dedicates My First Coup d'Etat "to the memory of my father, Mr. E. A. Mahama, a man of humility and integrity, who lived in service of his family, his people, and his nation." Give some examples of the elder Mahama's "humility and integrity." How did he impart these qualities to his nineteen children?
2. Mahama writes, "A number of us who stayed during the 'lost decades' and lived through the difficulties, whether by choice or force, discovered that it was, ironically, during this time that we found ourselves, our voices." How did the hardships of the "lost decades" shape Mahama's personality, politics, and sensibility?
3. As a seven-year-old student, the phrase "coup d'etat" was intriguing to Mahama, "like a game that all the upper-form students would soon be playing; and from the moment I first heard it—coup d'etat—I wished I could learn how to play this new game as well." Discuss how the coup appears through young Mahama's eyes. What does he fail to understand about the coup, and what does he sense about its dangers?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Bloomsbury USA. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.