Ellis, Stephen. 1999. The Mask of Anarchy: the Destruction of Liberia and the Religious Dimension of an African Civil War.

New York: New York University Press. 311 pp.

Stephen Ellis has written a dense and fascinating book, perhaps an obligatory read for anyone desiring to understand the basic events leading to the current Liberian situation, or to comprehend more clearly their complexities. The book's primary focus is the particularly barbarous culture of political violence in Liberia from 1990 to 1997, with attention necessarily paid to the years following the Doe coup and other historical factors. While the broad, yet detailed, exploration is thought-provoking, Ellis ultimately falls short of ...

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