Liberian Literary Magazine
Book Review
Between the Kola Forest
and the Salty Sea
Between the Kola Forest
and the Salty Sea
Carl Patrick Burrowes
January Issue 0115
African history by smelting this
book, Between the Kola Forest
and the Salty Sea, like a Kissi
blacksmith who smelts iron to
make a currency. This book is
rich with historical, theological,
political and economic realities
of Liberia that we must read.
Very few authors have presented
historical details about Liberia
before 1822 and this book set the
standard for younger Liberians
and Africans to research and
rewrite our history. Malcolm X
said "Of all our studies, history is
best qualified to reward our
research," and Dr. Burrowes has
excellently
researched
and
brought the past into the future.
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An assortment of Reviews
1)
Tolo
Bonah
Corfah,
Educator: Prior
to
reading Between the Kola Forest
and the Salty Sea, I had not had
the opportunity of coming across
any work that dealt so thoroughly
with how the various people of
Liberia are interrelated and
interconnected as Dr. Burrowes
has recorded.
My view is that this book should
form part of the curricula of
Liberian social studies for every
Liberian student. The perspective
this book offers is especially
need ed after the devastating and
senseless civil strife that engulfed
our country for a little over 15
years and destroyed almost every
fabric of the educational system
of the country.
2) Capt. Emmanuel G. Woods,
Chaplain U. S. Army: The
Honorable Marcus Garvey said,
"A people without the knowledge
of their past history, origin and
culture is like a tree without
roots" Dr. Burrowes has
replanted Liberia into the soil of
3) Dr. Thomas Jaye, Deputy
Director
for
Research,
Department of Graduate Studies
and Research, Kofi Annan
International
Peacekeeping
Training
Centre
(KAIPTC): Between the Kola
Forest and the Salty Sea places
the history of Liberia in proper
perspective by providing a
seamless narrative of how the
peoples of this country migrated
to what is referred to today as
Liberia. For a long time,
Liberians and students of Liberia
were made to understand and
believe that the history of this
country started from 1822 but this
work has not only debunked this
belief or myth; it has radically
shifted the paradigm.
On the contrary, the book
provides a narrative of the history
as it has unfolded over the past
centuries and points out that
while the country’s relationship
with the rest of the world started
earlier, its effective incorporation
into the global economy started in
the 18th century. Since then, its
role has not changed: mere
supplier of cheap raw materials
and labour; and importer of
16
finished products. The history of
Liberia is a history of African
peoples migrating from different
parts of the continent to settle
where we are today. In this light,
it is a mosaic of or melting pot for
African peoples arriving from
different parts of the world to
establish a single whole called
Liberia.
As expected, Burrowes has
shown an eye for telling details
because of the rigour with which
it is written; it is written in a very
fluent style; you have provided
considerable knowledge of the
country’s past in a lucid way; and
you provide the sort of
interpretation of its history that
can only make the reader to know
that this is a magnificent
scholarly
achievement.
I
recommend this for university
students
studying
Liberian
society and also for those
interested in knowing Liberia,
especially at a time that the
country is emerging from the
ashes of a senseless war and
seeking a better path to the
future. It is a must read.
I have learned a lot from this
piece of work. Cannot wait to see
it on the shelves of libraries and
of bookstores.
4) Miatta “Pikoo” Ashley, Artist
and Activist: The lessons offered
by Between the Kola and Salty
Sea have to be passed along to
our youth, our future. The
narrative of our history has
always started from the arrival of
the settlers, ignoring the rich,
long legacies of generations
before. Our youth are in desperate
need of a "new" reality, one that
embraces all and perhaps that will
begin to level the playing field in
their identity of self - which in
turn will help erase some of the
"isms" which has blinded their
value in society.