Charles Taylor and Liberia: Ambition and atrocity in Africa's lone star state
这本书从利比里亚19世纪起源讲起，聚焦查尔斯·泰勒这一人物，分析其如何在利比里亚冲突中崛起，以及该国政治经济问题如何导致暴行。
Building up to focus on a man who was far too big a personality to be contained within a small country, this engaging and well-written book starts with a history of Liberia from its origins in the nineteenth century. Emphasizing this smallness, Waugh frames Liberia's history in terms of connections to the United States that are far more important for it than for the US. Liberia was successful in important ways. Its government was stable for decades and presided over one of the world's fastest growing economies after the Second World War. Then Waugh notes the flaws that numerous others who have written about Liberia's conflict in the 1990s and after cite, such as the privations of the many alongside the comforts of the few, and the backlash of elite hardliners and angry activists that swept away President Tolbert (1971–80) when he tried to open up the political system. Liberia's troubles are not unique. Charles Taylor, the real subject of this book, is, if not unique, an outsize figure who casts his shadow over this conflict. Waugh's careful investigation includes interviews with people who knew Taylor well and who watched his rise. Taylor the activist in Liberian student organizations in the US comes across as an adaptable chameleon-like character, shifting from one setting to another with ease. Waugh then paints a picture of a very big man in a small country. Taylor continually over-reached himself, but for a remarkably long period of time, his flexibility, intelligence, and cunning helped him to survive.