A Month and a Day: A Detention Diary

by Ken Saro-Wiwa | Biographies & Memoirs |
ISBN: 0140259147 Global Overview for this book
Registered by Rrravenita of Santa Ana, San José Costa Rica on 9/6/2003
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3 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by Rrravenita from Santa Ana, San José Costa Rica on Saturday, September 6, 2003
From the back cover:

In May 1994, Ken Saro-Wiwa, together with eight others, was arrested in Nigeria for the murder of four men who had been killed during a riot following a political rally. Though there was overwhelming evidence of his innocence, Saro-Wiwa was imprisoned for eighteen months He and his co-defendants were eventually found guilty in a show trial and sentenced to be hanged. Despite massive international publicity and outcries against the mockery of justice these acts represented, on November 10, 1995, the executions were carried out.

A Month and a Day is the moving last memoir of the man who gave voice to the campaign for the basic rights of the Ogoni people of Nigeria. Saro-Wiwa was an outspoken critic of the despotic Nigerian military regime and of the international oil companies, notably Shell, which he held responsible for the destruction of his homeland. Yet, despite the brutal government campaign against the Ogoni, he always advocated peaceful and non-violent protest.

The book is framed by Saro-Wiwa's account of an earlier effort to silence him, when he was arrested in mid-1993. He lays out both the experience of detention and the story of his involvement with the Ogoni cause. He was eventually released as a result of intense international pressure, only to be arrested again the next year, shortly after finishing this book; he remained in prison until his death.

Released on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 at about 1:00:00 PM BX time (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada) at Mailed to fellow bookcrosser in Bookrelay, Postal Release Controlled Releases.

RELEASE NOTES:

Sending to dolphin-au... happy BXing!

Journal Entry 3 by dolphin-au from Lake Macquarie, New South Wales Australia on Monday, November 15, 2004
Received today as part of bookrelay. Thank you Rrravenita. Looking forward to reading this.

Journal Entry 4 by dolphin-au from Lake Macquarie, New South Wales Australia on Sunday, January 30, 2005
It was interesting to read this book about Ken Saro-Wiwa's experiences in his fight for the rights of the Ogoni people. I had read something in the past about the troubles with the oil companies in Nigeria, but never much detail, so I was looking forward to getting to know more.
This book certainly present more information, but it is written too much as a propaganda pamphlet for my liking.
To be honest, I had trouble feeling much sympathy for Ken when he describes his problems being detained. He is treated extremely well compared to other prisoners, and his complaining about toilet facilities and the smell in his rooms sounds like the whining of a spoilt little kid to me.
On a political level I don't know of the policies Ken stood for would be much good either. Giving small populations more rights to self-determination does not always work out to be of benefit to these same populations, especially not if these populations have poorly developed political sense and there is already a culture of endemic corruption.

Thanks Rrravenita for sharing this book with me. It was certainly interesting and a stimulant to find more information about the political situation in Nigeria.

Journal Entry 5 by dolphin-au at n/a in Post, A Bookbox -- Controlled Releases on Sunday, February 6, 2005

Released 19 yrs ago (2/6/2005 UTC) at n/a in Post, A Bookbox -- Controlled Releases

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

Added to the biography bookbag.

Journal Entry 6 by augustusgloop from Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Tuesday, March 8, 2005
Picked up at tonight's Sydney MeetUp at the Redoak.

I presume the biog bookbag got send to Sydney and this one ran away.

Thanks for registering this Rrravenita and dolphin-au for passing it along. Looking forward to reading it.

Released 15 yrs ago (2/3/2009 UTC) at Palace Cinema, Norton Street in Leichhardt, New South Wales Australia

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

Left in the women's bathrooms.

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