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The mask of anarchy:

the destruction of Liberia and the religious dimension of an African civil war
Front Cover
9 Reviews
NEW YORK University Press, 2001 - History - 350 pages

For the last decade Liberia has been one of Africa's most violent trouble spots. In 1990, when thousands of teenage fighters, including young men wearing women's clothing and bizarre objects of decoration, laid siege to the capital, the world took notice. Since then Liberia has been through devastating civil upheaval and the most feared warlord, Charles Taylor, is now president. What began as a civil conflict, has spread to other West African nations.

Western correspondents saw in the Liberian war a primeval, savage Africa-a "heart of darkness." They focused on sensational "primitive" aspects of the conflict, such as the prevalence of traditional healers and soothsayers, and shocked the international community with tales of cannibalism, especially the eating of the body parts of defeated opponents, which was widespread.

Eschewing popular stereotypes and simple explanations, Stephen Ellis traces the history of the civil war that has blighted Liberia in recent years and looks at its political, ethnic and cultural roots. He focuses on the role religion and ritual have played in shaping and intensifying this brutal war.

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Review: The Mask of Anarchy: The Destruction of Liberia and the Religious Dimension of an African Civil War

User Review  - LDB - Goodreads

This was an interesting perspective into Liberian history and conflicts, focusing more on the spiritual/religious side and how that influenced the conflict (at least through 1997). Stephen Ellis ... Read full review

Review: The Mask of Anarchy: The Destruction of Liberia and the Religious Dimension of an African Civil War

User Review  - Melinda - Goodreads

Hard to read, well-researched account of the Liberian war. Read full review

All 8 reviews »

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References from web pages

The Gullah People and Their African Heritage
The Gullah People and Their African Heritage. By William S. Pollitzer. (Athens, Ga., and London: University of Georgia Press, c. 1999. ...
www.questia.com/ PM.qst?a=o& se=gglsc& d=5002411737

JSTOR: The Gullah People and Their African Heritage
The Gullah People and Their African Heritage. By William S. Pollitzer. (Athens, Ga., and London: University of Georgia Press, c. 1999. ...
links.jstor.org/ sici?sici=0022-4642(200108)67%3A3%3C642%3ATGPATA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-H

The Gullah people and their African heritage
The Gullah People and Their African Heritage. By William S. Pollitzer. xxiv + 298pp. Ath-. ens: University of Georgia Press. 1999. $40.00 (cloth). ...
doi.wiley.com/ 10.1002/ 1520-6300(200102/ 03)13:2%3C284::AID-AJHB1043%3E3.3.CO;2-D

Gullah people subject of UNC-CH professor emeritus’ book
These ways of life are explored in the new book "The Gullah People and Their African Heritage" by Dr. William Pollitzer, professor emeritus of anatomy and ...
www.unc.edu/ news/ archives/ dec99/ gullah121499.htm

Gullah is a people, a language, and a culture that have survived ...
THE GULLAH PEOPLE AND THEIR AFRICAN HERITAGE. by William S. Pollitzer. Softcover ISBN 0-8203-2783-9, $24.95**. From Library Journal: ...
www.sandlapperpublishing.com/ gullah.html

William Pollitzer
"The Gullah People and Their African Heritage," University of Georgia Press. Anderson, jj and ws Pollitzer (1994). "Ethnic and genetic differences in ...
www.physanth.org/ annmeet/ prizes/ pollitzer.html

Gay Alden Wilentz - "What Is Africa to Me?": Reading the African ...
The Gullah People and Their African Heritage. By William S. Pollitzer. University of Georgia Press, 1999. What happened to those who were taken away? ...
muse.jhu.edu/ journals/ american_literary_history/ v015/ 15.3wilentz.html

Page 1 Appendix D: The Gullah People and Their African Heritage by ...
This report is based upon my book, The Gullah People and Their African Heritage, University of. Georgia Press, 1999, which also contains more tables and ...
www.nps.gov/ sero/ planning/ gg_srs/ ggsrs_appendixD.pdf

Blackwell Publishing Ltd Oxford, UK AMAN American Anthropologist ...
... 374 2 Book Reviews The Gullah People and Their African Heritage Kenneth Bilby 1 1 Smithsonian Institution The Gullah People and Their African Heritage. ...
www.blackwell-synergy.com/ doi/ xml/ 10.1525/ aa.2002.104.1.373

aa American Anthropologist aa 0002-7294 1548-1433 American ...
... VA 22201 USA aa.2002.104.1.373 10.1525/aa.2002.104.1.373 Book Reviews The Gullah People and Their African Heritage Kenneth Bilby Smithsonian Institution ...
www.anthrosource.net/ doi/ xml/ 10.1525/ aa.2002.104.1.373

About the author (2001)

Stephen Ellis is a senior researcher at the Afrika-Studiecentrum, Leiden University and co-editor of African Affairs.

Bibliographic information

QR code for The mask of anarchy
TitleThe mask of anarchy: the destruction of Liberia and the religious dimension of an African civil war
AuthorStephen Ellis
Editionreprint, revised
PublisherNEW YORK University Press, 2001
ISBN0814722199, 9780814722190
Length350 pages
Subjects ›  › 

History / Africa / General
Political Science / History & Theory
Religion / Religion, Politics & State
Social Science / Anthropology / Cultural
  
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