Death and Diamonds

From 1991 to 2002, the tiny West African nation of Sierra Leone suffered a series of vicious internal conflicts—too chaotic to merit the term civil war—that left at least 20,000 people dead. The world press paid only sporadic attention to the carnage and its ever-shifting players. For most of us, one image persists: the Revoluntionary United Front rebels and the children they abducted amputating the hands and arms of civilians, sometimes gleefully asking their victims if they wanted a long-sleeve or a short-sleeve shirt.

Here is the worst part: even today, after more than a decade of extraordinary destruction, it is not at all clear what the war was about. A Dirty War in West Africa: The RUF and the Destruction of Sierra Leone is a convincing attempt to figure out what happened, and why.

Its author, Lansana Gberie, has exceptional qualifications for the task. As a reporter, he had covered the war—or wars—and interviewed many of the key players...