Blue Clay People: Seasons On Africa's Fragile Edge

Powers went to Liberia as an aid worker in 1999 and was given the mandate to "fight poverty and save the rainforest." It's not long before Powers discovers how Liberia has become a Fourth World country--poor, environmentally looted, scarred by violence, and barely governed.

"A haunting account of one man's determination and the struggles of a people living in a deeply troubled country."--"Booklist"
When William Powers went to Liberia as a fresh-faced aid worker in 1999, he was given the mandate to "fight poverty and save the rainforest." It wasn't long before Powers saw how many obstacles lay in the way, discovering first-hand how Liberia has become a "black hole in the international system"--poor, environmentally looted, scarred by violence, and barely governed. "Blue Clay People" is an absorbing blend of humor, compassion, and rigorous moral questioning, arguing convincingly that the fate of endangered places such as Liberia must matter to all of us.