A Long Way Gone
by Ishmael Beah
★ Top 10 book of 2007 · #10 on Best Books of 2007
Ishmael Beah recounts fleeing his village at twelve during Sierra Leone's civil war and being forced into an army unit as a child soldier. He describes his rescue by UNICEF, his rehabilitation, and his adoption by his uncle.
Best for: Readers seeking a harrowing, true survival account of war and recovery
A Long Way Gone is #10 on BookWard's Best Books of 2007, out of 53 2007 books that cleared our data bar.
What A Long Way Gone is about
Ishmael Beah was twelve when rebel fighters attacked his village in Sierra Leone and he ran, beginning a long stretch of wandering through a country at war. This 2007 memoir follows what happened next: how he was drawn into a government army unit, handed weapons and drugs, and by thirteen had seen and taken part in terrible violence. Beah writes plainly about how a child can be reshaped by war until he hardly recognizes himself.
The account does not stop at the fighting. It also covers the slow work of being pulled out of it, through a UNICEF rehabilitation program and the eventual home he found with an uncle. Readers interested in modern conflict, young people in crisis, or how recovery begins will find it sobering and humane. Note that some journalists and historians have questioned whether parts of the timeline match recorded events.
A Long Way Gone on the Best Books of 2007
A Long Way Gone came out in 2007. Of the 53 books first published in 2007 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #10 on our Best Books of 2007 list.
Why it made the list: 516 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.1 out of 5 (37 ratings); 31 are reading it right now. The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
Nearby on the 2007 list
- The Well of Ascension Brandon Sanderson, #8
- Marked P. C. Cast, #9
- There Is a Bird on Your Head! Mo Willems, #11
- City of Bones Cassandra Clare, #12
See all Best Books of 2007 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 2006 Best Books of 2008.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 435 want to read it, 31 are reading it now and 50 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 4.1 out of 5 from 37 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 81 | 55% |
| Reader love | 55 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 81 | 20% |
Questions about A Long Way Gone
When was A Long Way Gone published?
A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah was first published in 2007.
Was A Long Way Gone one of the best books of 2007?
A Long Way Gone is #10 on BookWard's Best Books of 2007, out of 53 2007 books that cleared our data bar. 516 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.1 out of 5 (37 ratings); 31 are reading it right now.
Why is A Long Way Gone on the Best Books of 2007 list?
516 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.1 out of 5 (37 ratings); 31 are reading it right now.
More of the best books of 2007
- Dog Days Jeff Kinney, #1
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows J. K. Rowling, #2
- The Titan's Curse Rick Riordan, #3
- A Thousand Splendid Suns Khaled Hosseini, #4
- Rodrick Rules Jeff Kinney, #5
- The Name of the Wind Patrick Rothfuss, #6
See the full Best Books of 2007, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
Find your own best books
Add what you have read, rate it, and BookWard will recommend what to read next.
Free while in beta. No credit card needed.