But, as they say, one shouldn't judge a book by its cover. This is an unapologetically academic tome, with extensive footnotes and a fifteen-page bibliography. If you are not of an academic bent, or not seriously curious about the truly unique character of the Liberian civil war, you might want to skip this book.

But if you are looking for a very good summation of the Liberian conflict, a primer on ethnicity and religion in Liberia, and an interesting examination of how these factored into the conflict, then this is a must-read.

My most vivid impression is that this is not so much one book as two separate volumes, one focusing on the war itself, and the other delving into Liberian, history, economics, and anthropology. The first section, on the war itself, is quite well done and very readable, almost journalistic in tone. Ellis draws from a wide variety of sources, including his own travels to the country, to describe and explain the Liberian civil war and the conditions in which it took root. Commendably, he cites Liberian sources whenever possible, though this tendency also raised one of my quibbles. For some reason, his citations of things like US Congressional testimony are from Monrovia newspapers rather than the original sources themselves, something I had been taught to avoid, especially when the original sources are so accessible (just a few mouse clicks away).

Ellis also occasionally falls into the trap of providing too much information, seemingly just because he did the research and wants to use it. For example, he goes on for pages and pages about the bases of the Nigerian and Ivorian economies by way of explaining the economic interests of both countries in the Liberian conflict. He could have summarized this information in much less space without taking anything away from his thesis.

That having been said, Ellis makes some important points about the conflict. One is the tendency of some analysts, myself included, to be too quick to ascribe ethnic labels and motivations to the key players. The situation is more complicated than that, with clan affiliations, personal ties, and other considerations often more important. He also delves into the unique religious and cultural backdrop of Liberia to explain some of the seemingly wierd and grotesque practices that became hallmarks of this conflict -- like the transvestism and ritual cannibalism practiced by some of the combatants.

One can't help but conclude that, for all Liberia has been through in the last twenty years, it still has a long way to go to find some political equilibrium, much less to achieve its promise. Charles Taylor, while more clever and formidable than most of his predecessors in the Executive Mansion, is at least as brutal and venal as any of them, including the late Samuel Doe. And, sadly, Taylor appears incapable of mending the deep wounds that still beset Liberia. No one will be surprised if he, too, is toppled by yet another self-aggrandizing military man out to plunder the country. Liberia deserves better.

Whether or not you accept his analysis of the role which traditional religious ritual played in the way in which the war was carried out, the fact remains that the Liberian warlords, most of whom had enough education to know what they were doing, consciously manipulated young, poor and uneducated soldiers to commit murder, torture, rape and terror in the interests of seizing power and the spoils of war. When foreign governments intervened, more often they did more harm than good. There are no heroes in this book.

If there is a weakness in Ellis's analysis, it is in the period of the 70s and 80s; he gives somewhat cursory attention to the failings of the Tolbert regime which led to the 1980 coup and to the dynamics between the Doe government and the international community, especially the United States and its short term interests in the country. As a result, no meaningful conclusions can be drawn as to how and when the rapid descent into madness might have been prevented--despite an acknowledgement that things could have turned out differently. This is a minor cavil to an otherwise perceptive study of the nature of the challenges facing Liberia if it is to take up again the task of nation building.

The bottom line on this book (actually an 8.5 by 11 "manual") is that it has some nuggets, including a fairly good but by no means comprehensive quasi-annotated bibliography, but it is very very "busy" and difficult to read easily. In essence, while the authors may have brought together some of the best annecdotes and insights on supervising volunteers, they have not done the more difficult work of integration and simplification that would have allowed the busy manager to absorb this material comfortably. Reading this book is a strain.

The book also appears to be part of a "portal program" that churns out books and articles on volunteer program management. On balance, I would get the book if you are the one person responsible for program-wide oversight of volunteer supervision, and not get it if you are simply one of many people superivising small numbers of volunteers.

However, having played the game for several years before reading this book, I found that I had difficulties in locating the information I wanted. Some of the tables and charts that seem like they should be grouped together are spread out - thus making me hunt for them.

As for the content of the book itself, it has *nearly* everything you could ask for. The small amount of expert advice in the back may or may not be useful but it is the only strategy tips available, and I noticed a few errors thoughout the book (nothing major, however). At times I find that a lot of pages go by before some useful information turns up. Too much talk about what the game is doing and not enough strategy tips for my tastes. I don't think the book needs to be as thick as it is.

Bottom line: The info is in there. Sifting the proverbial wheat out of the chaff is another thing altogether.

But unlike the whining victimization now embraced by liberal and leftist intellectuals, Ellis takes a refreshingly old-fashioned, but nonetheless effective, approach towards helping people with their problems. He emphasizes over and over again that people upset themselves with their irrational and unscientific thoughts about their situations in life. Emotional disturbance is a self-inflicted philosophical and ideological disorder.

Sure, people can be hurt or exploited by circumstances beyond their control, but how they respond to these circumstances determines whether they meet adversity effectively or not. Not that long ago, facing adversity with head held high was called "strength of character." Because so many people in our wealthy society grow up sheltered from real threats to their health and safety (as compared with children in those impoverished or war-torn places we see on the evening news), psychological "threats" assume an importance all out of proportion to their actual danger. The suffering is real, nonetheless, and Ellis has spent his life well in developing techniques for helping the emotionally dysfunctional to straighten out their emotions by identifying and disputing irrational beliefs.

This book contains a wonderful survey of Ellis's writings, showing all aspects of his thought and career. If you want to learn how to improve your emotional health, this book is a good place to begin.