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Book Review of The Devil That Danced on the Water: A Daughter's Quest

The Devil That Danced on the Water: A Daughter's Quest
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This memoir is 1) partially about the experiences of the author's childhood during the late 1960's and early 1970's, 2) a biography of her father's life before and after becoming a finance minister in an infant democratic party in Sierra Leone, and 3) the author's quest 25 years later to find the truth behind her father's conviction and execution carried out by an anarchist government for crimes he did not commit.

Aminatta and her family, especially her father, lived an extraordinary life, having lived in other countries than Africa, and enduring circumstances many of us can't imagine much less survive.

The most I knew about Sierra Leone was about the power struggle and warfare over diamond mines. The political and cultural history the author included was very informative about that era.