Brian J. Peterson's Thomas Sankara is a poignant and compelling account of one of postcolonial Africa's most innovative and progressive leaders, who was assassinated in a home-grown military coup assisted by foreign powers. Through meticulous oral and archival research, Peterson reconstructs the complex historical figure who was both idolized and hated, erased from official histories, and idealized in popular collective memory—and places him in the context of his people, place, and times.
As a young army officer, Sankara came to power in 1983 after a military coup in the wake of widespread popular protest. A worldwide decline in commodity prices had hit African countries hard, driving many deeply into debt. To acquire desperately needed international bank loans, governments were forced to implement free-market economic policies promoted by the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and Western states and banks. These measures included ending state subsidies on essential foodstuffs, laying off...