Boy Soldier's Book Reaches No. 1

Last month, AltTulsa noted the publication of A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah's account of his harrowing years as a boy soldier in Sierra Leone. We discovered the book when a portion of it appeared in the New York Times Magazine.

This week, A Long Way Gone reached the top of the New York Times' nonfiction bestseller list. That fact, along with Beah's ordeal as a drug-fueled soldier, caps an amazing personal transformation.

As a African boy solider, Beah's prospects were dim. His life expectancy could be measured in weeks, perhaps months if he were lucky. And yet, Beah survived. He was brought to the U.S., completed high school, enrolled in college, and began telling his remarkable story.