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A review by graywacke
Madame President by Helene Cooper
5.0
posted on Litsy: 
Liberia has an odd history where freed mixed-race American slaves formed the country in 1847, essentially taking it over and becoming a ruling elite, known for some reason as Congo people. Liberia actually was financially sound, except that all the wealth from mining and whatnot went to the ruling elite, creating a massive class divide that broke down first into a coup and military dictatorship in 1980, and then into in all-out civil war of unending violence that began in 1989 and continued till about 2003 when President Charles Taylor was charged with war crimes for actions in Sierre Leon (but not in Liberia) and fled. The details and extent of the violence in Liberia are unfathomably gruesome, with torture, massacres, causal violence and, of course, rapes committed by all sides.
Out of the now completely broken country came Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a grandmother elected to president through a massive women's movement. Sirleaf is a financial expert with ties to key members in the world bank, private banks and financial and political leaders in the US. She was far from a nobody. In course of her presidency, the country's debt was cancelled, the economy reactivated, the violence plummeted, corruption reduced (but hardly stopped), the country began to rebuild, and Sirleaf, the first woman to be elected to leadership in Africa, won the Nobel Peace Prize (along with two other women). Then came Ebola - into the capital city, Monrovia, the first time an epidemic of the disease hit a urban area. Serious predictions saw 4 million deaths coming in a matter a months.
The author, [[Helene Cooper]], was born in Liberia, and later became a member of the press corps following American presidents. When Ebola hit, she when back to Liberia to cover the outbreak and interview Sirleaf and to write this book.
I'm not sure how to put it, but this is a really terrific book in so many ways, uplifting and human. The introduction about the author's own life already had my attention. And the life of Sirleaf, hardly a perfect person, is really inspirational. It's the story of what can happen when a really qualified person is actually given responsibility, but it's also the story of the catastrophe it took to get there. I'll add that it was interesting to see the presidency of George W. Bush, a president I hate, in a positive light. And it see was nice to see Obama playing such a key role in being proactive with the Ebola crisis, sending in resources and American marines to assist, and essentially saving the city. And all of this in a country I hardly ever thought about before starting this book.
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32. Madame President: The Extraordinary Journey of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf by Helene Cooper
reader: Marlene Cooper Vasilic
published: 2017
format: 12:45 overdrive audiobook (~356 pages, 336 pages in hardcover)
acquired: library loan
listened: May 24 – Jun 7
rating: 4½
This book is why I’m somewhat random in how I select audiobooks. It never occurred to me that Liberian history was so fascinating and awful, or that the transformation this woman represents could be so special on so many levels. So much to say. Extraordinarily and grotesque violence, 70% of women raped in a civil war before Sarleaf began rebuilding. And then Ebola. Special book, special person, terrific writing, great reader.
Liberia has an odd history where freed mixed-race American slaves formed the country in 1847, essentially taking it over and becoming a ruling elite, known for some reason as Congo people. Liberia actually was financially sound, except that all the wealth from mining and whatnot went to the ruling elite, creating a massive class divide that broke down first into a coup and military dictatorship in 1980, and then into in all-out civil war of unending violence that began in 1989 and continued till about 2003 when President Charles Taylor was charged with war crimes for actions in Sierre Leon (but not in Liberia) and fled. The details and extent of the violence in Liberia are unfathomably gruesome, with torture, massacres, causal violence and, of course, rapes committed by all sides.
Out of the now completely broken country came Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a grandmother elected to president through a massive women's movement. Sirleaf is a financial expert with ties to key members in the world bank, private banks and financial and political leaders in the US. She was far from a nobody. In course of her presidency, the country's debt was cancelled, the economy reactivated, the violence plummeted, corruption reduced (but hardly stopped), the country began to rebuild, and Sirleaf, the first woman to be elected to leadership in Africa, won the Nobel Peace Prize (along with two other women). Then came Ebola - into the capital city, Monrovia, the first time an epidemic of the disease hit a urban area. Serious predictions saw 4 million deaths coming in a matter a months.
The author, [[Helene Cooper]], was born in Liberia, and later became a member of the press corps following American presidents. When Ebola hit, she when back to Liberia to cover the outbreak and interview Sirleaf and to write this book.
I'm not sure how to put it, but this is a really terrific book in so many ways, uplifting and human. The introduction about the author's own life already had my attention. And the life of Sirleaf, hardly a perfect person, is really inspirational. It's the story of what can happen when a really qualified person is actually given responsibility, but it's also the story of the catastrophe it took to get there. I'll add that it was interesting to see the presidency of George W. Bush, a president I hate, in a positive light. And it see was nice to see Obama playing such a key role in being proactive with the Ebola crisis, sending in resources and American marines to assist, and essentially saving the city. And all of this in a country I hardly ever thought about before starting this book.
-----------------------------------------------
32. Madame President: The Extraordinary Journey of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf by Helene Cooper
reader: Marlene Cooper Vasilic
published: 2017
format: 12:45 overdrive audiobook (~356 pages, 336 pages in hardcover)
acquired: library loan
listened: May 24 – Jun 7
rating: 4½