In his memoir, A Long Way Gone, Beah recounted his brutal life as a child soldier and how he got from Sierra Leone to Oberlin College by way of the UN. His first novel follows a young African back to his battered homeland, tracing a community's efforts to rebuild and move on despite war's aftermath, petty crime, and the looming threat of a mining company with designs on the village. (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)Founded by Carla Cohen and Barbara Meade in 1984, Politics & Prose Bookstore is Washington, D.C.'s premier independent bookstore and cultural hub, a gathering place for people interested in reading and discussing books. Politics & Prose offers superior service, unusual book choices, and a haven for book lovers in the store and online. Visit them on the web at http://www.politics-prose.com/