The Price of Liberty : African Americans and the Making of Liberia

Rating:
Summary: A Faascinating Read
Review: Professor Clegg tells the compelling story of freed African Americans who helped found Liberia, the West African country whose destiny, for better or for worse, has been intertwined with its 'stepchild-like' relationship with the United States. The book is well written and a fascinating read both for the specialist and the general reader. My only critique is that by focusing on one particular group of individuals, Professor Clegg sacrifices the proverbial forest for a tree, albeit in this case a most alluring tree. This book would best be read by someone who has first taken a look through a good political history of Liberia like the ones written by Professors Amos Claudius Sawyer, THE EMERGENCE OF AUTOCRACY IN LIBERIA (Institute for Contemporary Studies, 1992); Stephen Ellis, THE MASK OF ANARCHY (New York University Press, 1999); and John Peter Pham, LIBERIA: PORTRAIT OF A FAILED STATE (Reed Press, 2004).