Paul Richards, School of Environmental Studies, Njala University, Sierra Leone

“The vibrant night life of Freetown’s bars and clubs is a world of lively self-assertiveness challenging the usual stereotypes of Sierra Leonean youth as hell-bent on violent destruction. Here, new soundscapes and styles of embodied action and interaction are shaped in ways that might surprise the visitor raised only on stories of stubborn poverty and endemic violence. Having immersed himself in an exhausting schedule of club bashes and parties in the unfashionable parts of the city Michael Stasik surfaces to offer the reader a beautifully observed and richly detailed account of a post-war generation of young Sierra Leoneans hard at play, heedless of obstacles.”