Synopses & Reviews
An elegantly written memoir of a young man's life-changing sojourn in a world of immeasurable poverty and instability: Charles Taylor's Liberia.
William Powers went to Liberia as a fresh-faced aid worker in 1999 and was given the mandate to "fight poverty and save the rainforest." It's not long before Powers is confronting the myriad obstacles to these goals. He discovers how Liberia has become a Fourth World country, or a "black hole in the international system"-poor, environmentally looted, scarred by violence, and barely governed. He comes face-to-face with unspeakable horrors and the insidious corruption behind every daily transaction. Yet, against the odds (and the attitude of most aid workers), he finds a place in the jungle that feels like home and a woman he might risk everything for, until violence descends once more, threatening his friends and his future.
With the pacing and prose of the best novels, Blue Clay People is an absorbing blend of humor, compassion, and rigorous moral questioning that will convince readers why the fate of endangered places such as Liberia must matter to all of us.
Review
"A hard-bitten, unclouded, and intense portrait of a desperate place." Kirkus Reviews
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"Powers has a keen ear for dialogue and dialect, and his prose is lovely and lyrical." Providence Journal
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"Powers' ability to see at least some things through African eyes that sets his memoir apart." SF Chronicle Review
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"An examination of the failures and successes of international aid as well as a moving coming-of-age story." Columbus Dispatch
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"A Masterful storyteller...Powers has a keen ear for dialogue and dialect, and his prose is lovely and lyrical...[His] honesty about his own flaws places him in the congregation rather than the pulpit."--
Providence Journal "So few educated Westerners agree to work in Liberia that any book illuminating the situation there would be welcome. It is a bonus that William Powers, one of those few, is also sensitive, reflective, and a fine stylist."--St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"Powers sketches scenes of transcendent beauty and grotesque violence, and writes with disarming honesty about his struggle to maintain his ideals when the right course of action is far from clear."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Synopsis
"A haunting account of one man's determination and the struggles of a people living in a deeply troubled country."--BooklistWhen William Powers went to Liberia as a fresh-faced aid worker in 1999, he was given the mandate to "fight poverty and save the rainforest." It wasn't long before Powers saw how many obstacles lay in the way, discovering first-hand how Liberia has become a "black hole in the international system"--poor, environmentally looted, scarred by violence, and barely governed. Blue Clay People is an absorbing blend of humor, compassion, and rigorous moral questioning, arguing convincingly that the fate of endangered places such as Liberia must matter to all of us.
About the Author
William Powers hails from Long Island and is among a small group of Westerners to have lived long-term in Liberia and to have traveled to the nation's most dangerous corners. For two years, he directed food distribution, agriculture, and education programs for the largest non-governmental relief group in Liberia. He has also worked at the World Bank, and holds International Relations degrees from Brown University and Georgetown's School of Foreign Service. He's currently on assignment in Bolivia.