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142 reviews for:
Anansi's Gold: The Man Who Looted the West, Outfoxed Washington, and Swindled the World
Yepoka Yeebo
3.84 AVERAGE
142 reviews for:
Anansi's Gold: The Man Who Looted the West, Outfoxed Washington, and Swindled the World
Yepoka Yeebo
3.84 AVERAGE
Four stars for being incredibly well-researched and a fascinating story. Three stars for needing to be edited more carefully, and the tiring foreshadowing.
funny
informative
tense
medium-paced
As a work of fiction, the story of Dr. John Blay-Miezah would prove unbelievable. Blay-Miezah (not a doctor or even a college grad; Blay-Miezah is not his last name) claims to be the one person who can access billions of dollars (the origin story varies) that will save Ghana from its third world conditions. Anyone who invests in Blay-Miezah’s travels to release the money will profit handsomely.
Blay-Miezah keeps this con running for decades. He survives various govt take overs in Ghana, periods of incarceration, and lawsuits. The one person who seems able to match him is his 3rd (?) wife, Gladys. She uses her trickster abilities to find him with mistresses and protect their children. He uses his, like the spider Anansi, to bilk people.
Even Shirley Temple Black makes a few appearances as an ambassador who is not fooled by his song and dance. Who better to judge a little song and dance?
This is an incredible story spanning many years and four continents but it becomes repetitive and flat as it goes, perhaps because there is so little insight to Blay-Miezah. He didn’t leave letters or journals that deepen the story. The overarching story of inhumanity is hammered in at the end in case readers missed it.
Blay-Miezah keeps this con running for decades. He survives various govt take overs in Ghana, periods of incarceration, and lawsuits. The one person who seems able to match him is his 3rd (?) wife, Gladys. She uses her trickster abilities to find him with mistresses and protect their children. He uses his, like the spider Anansi, to bilk people.
Even Shirley Temple Black makes a few appearances as an ambassador who is not fooled by his song and dance. Who better to judge a little song and dance?
This is an incredible story spanning many years and four continents but it becomes repetitive and flat as it goes, perhaps because there is so little insight to Blay-Miezah. He didn’t leave letters or journals that deepen the story. The overarching story of inhumanity is hammered in at the end in case readers missed it.
informative
informative
medium-paced
Living in America right now, it was easy to see parallels between Ghana's and the US's greatest con men.
An interesting character, and it was interesting to learn about the history of Nigeria which I was almost entirely ignorant to you. Unfortunately, this book is terribly written. Repetitive, flat, and with a bizarre insistence on referring to the protagonist as 'our man' which is cute for about ten pages and annoying thereafter.
Fascinating and deeply researched. It makes me want a wider Ghanan history from this time, to bring colonialist actions into view - how they interacted (globally) with the scammer at the center of the story. An interesting take on the creation of a nation's history and the myth making done by con artists.
informative
fast-paced
informative
challenging
informative
slow-paced