This book collects articles and reviews the author wrote for various publications, academic and journalistic, over the past 10 to 14 years. They are not arranged in chronological order, but there is a consistent underlying theme: the authors reaction to war, politics and traditional justice in Africa, with a particular focus on Sierra Leone and Liberia. He has studied these two countries more intimately than all others; but this book includes articles on Ivory Coast, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo.