Last Lorry to Mbordo: Misadventures in Nation Building

by John C. Kennedy

When we talk of making the world a better, more peaceful place for all of its peoples, no nation can match the United States in rhetoric. But, in a practical sense, we are just starting on this process of learning how to make peace. In war outcomes are seldom predictable and true consequences are known only years afterwards. The outcomes of our tentative efforts to make peace seem even less predictable. The results of our efforts, all too often, seem to be the opposite of what we intended. Last Lorry to Mbordo is the story of a few of those who choose to try to make a difference on a personal level. Their experiences provide both reason for caution and reason for hope.

280 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

John Charles Kennedy

Reviews

[C Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve just picked up this book again to read it for a 2nd time. The first time I read it was about 20 years ago. It’s even better than I remember!

[Dave Ripley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book about 20 years ago. Because John Kennedy recently died, I decided to read it again. I probably do not reread enough books as a general rule. I say that because I believe I appreciated the depth of the development of certain themes by the author more after this reading. Even though I knew the story, I was amazed how much I was drawn into the building tension of the story. Having traveled in both Ghana and Nigeria, I found this story to be a fascinating combination of the two countries.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. The writing style is a bit drab, but aside from that I enjoyed the story. Most of the characters are poorly developed and the fictional country is a bit of a stretch. The author has spent some time in Ghana, and I suspect that is what Sakra is loosely based on.

What this book did well though is providing details about living in West Africa in a subtle and casual way that really brought back some nostalgia as somebody else who has also been there. I often found myself laughing or grinning at the memories.


I would have rated this book lower, but I know the author.