A Multimedia History of a Musical Genre

Abstract

community for a peaceful solution, noting the rebel leaders were ‘frustrating the peace process at every turn in their determination to position themselves favourably for elections’ (265). The 1995 Abuja Accord included Taylor’s participation, but the factions rearmed their groups months after and clashes continued. Nonetheless, the accord was implemented with punitive measures for failing to disarm, a timeline for disarmament, a deadline for elections, and the new military leadership of ECOMOG ensured security. Ultimately, Taylor overwhelmingly won the July 1997 elections under the eye of international observers and ECOMOG security, marking an end of the war. Yet, violence would later resume and the country experienced the Second Civil War in the new millennium. The book is informative, providing a high-level narrative of the civil war with important insight into the church’s role providing humanitarian aid and as a victim of the violence beyond previously told stories from journalists, politicians, or soldiers. Those familiar with the broad strokes of the civil war might still find Liberia’s First Civil War useful for the perspective offered by Hogan’s new primary sources. Yet at times Hogan includes material from missionaries and church records without a clear and relevant connection to the political narrative. While some of the records are connected to larger figures and events, other times they refer to more localized stories that are less clearly relevant to the big picture. By utilizing missionary sources to such a significant extent, Hogan also lets the vignettes of foreign missionaries replace Liberian voices in parts. Moreover, although the book does advertise itself as a narrative history, there is too little analysis, beyond a few pages in the last chapter. Hogan relates what happened rather than offering original arguments about the underlying reasons, motivations, and ideologies surrounding the actors and the events. Consequently, the book does not provide a new interpretation of events. While there is much information in the book, an analytic lens could have provided better framing, as well as helped to synthesize the missionaries’ experiences within the context of the broader war. Nonetheless, the book is a useful introduction to the war, especially for students and scholars who need a primer on Liberia’s recent history.