I’m spending the summer in Chicago with my boyfriend, who lives here. I’m not starting grad school until the fall. This means I have lots of empty days to run and read and eat and go to
Northwestern’s Library of African Studies. Which is what I did on Friday.
The library, which is open to the public, has at least 100 books on Liberia. I spent most of the day reading
Mark Huband’s The Liberian Civil War (and negotiating, unsuccessfully, for borrowing privileges). The book sells for $50 on Amazon and the Chicago Public Library system does not own it. Argh.
As Charles Taylor’s defense team will begin presenting their case tomorrow, I will post here some quick facts you might not know about Taylor that I learned from Huband. (By the way, I haven’t finished the book yet, but it is so good. Readable and super well-researched. )
- By the end of the 1970s, when in the US, Taylor had 3 credit cards and a $16,000 overdraft.
- Taylor was in Liberia when Tolbert was murdered, on a trip financed by Tolbert. Tolbert wanted his critics abroad to come to Liberia and see all the good things the government was doing.
- Taylor’s position under Doe as head of the General Services Agency was more powerful than you might think. A recent law had prohibited ministries from purchasing most of their own supplies. They had to go through GSA. Purchasing goods from companies provided the most potentially lucrative financial kickbacks.
- When Taylor became head of GSA he “adopted the trappings of power…His critics described him as travelling in the back of chauffeur-driven government cars clutching a small dog, with up to 12 armed bodyguards[.]“
Posted in Uncategorized.
By Shelby
– July 12, 2009
Hi Shelby,
Great blog.
In terms of reading on Liberia, I highly recommend "The Mask of Anarchy" by Stephen Ellis – he explores some really interesting themes, like the role of religion, in the history of Liberia's conflict. I hope the Northwestern library has it
Cheers,
Penelope