Book review: Charles Taylor and Liberia: ambition and atrocity in Africa’s lone star state

Charles Taylor sought to lead his native Liberia to change but instead destroyed it in a frenzy of violence, greed and uncontrolled personal ambition. In the process he threw much of Liberia’s neighbouring region into turmoil for over a decade, finally facing judgement in The Hague for his role in the Sierra Leone conflict. In this remarkable and eye-opening book, Colin Waugh draws on a variety of sources, testimonies and original interviews to recount the story of what really happened during these turbulent years. There can be no easy conclusions, writes Tara O’Leary.