Thomas Sankara

by Ernest Harsch

ISBN: 9780821421260

Published: 2014

Preface; 1: "Another Way of Governing"; 2: The Forging of a Rebel; 3: Onto the Political Stage; 4: The State Reimagined; 5: Mobilizing the Nation; 6: Development for the People; 7: A Foreign Policy of One's Own; 8: The Last Battles; 9: "Is It Possible to Forget You?"; Selected Bibliography; Index. Thomas Sankara, often called the African Che Guevara, was president of Burkina Faso, one of the poorest countries in Africa, until his assassination during the military coup that brought down his government. Although his tenure in office was relatively short, Sankara left an indelible mark on his country's history and development. An avowed Marxist, he outspokenly asserted his country's independence from France and other Western powers while at the same time seeking to build a genuine pan-African unity. Ernest Harsch traces Sankara's life from his student days to his recruitment into the mil.