'A Long Way Gone' sold 1M+ copies
Ishmael Beah's memoir about his experience as a child soldier in Sierra Leone has sold more than one million copies and been translated into 40 languages.
Snapshot · The Moth
Fabricated, Forged and Forgotten: The Moth Radio Hour
Explore episode
Jun 16, 2026
Where this was said
Closing Credits & Final Sponsor
At 56:15 · chapter starts 56:11
Jay Allison wraps the episode by noting that Ishmael Beah was eventually pulled into the violence he had witnessed and recruited as a boy soldier in Sierra Leone, before his rescue and rehabilitation. His memoir, 'A Long Way Gone,' has since sold more than one million copies and been translated into 40 languages, becoming one of the definitive accounts of child soldier experience. Allison then delivers the full production credits — the team includes Kathryn Burns, Meg Bowles, Vicki Merrick, Emily Couch, directors Jennifer Hickson and Larry Rosen, Grand Slam coach Jody Powell, and a long list of Moth leadership — before thanking funders including the National Endowment for the Arts. The episode closes with a SimpliSafe home security advertisement and a brief legal disclaimer about outdoor deterrence plans.
Memoir translated into 40 languages
Ishmael Beah's memoir 'A Long Way Gone' has been translated into 40 languages, reflecting its global impact as a testimony of child soldier experiences.
Similar snapshots
CISO role first held by Steve Katz
Joel de la Garza noted that the CISO role is a relatively recent invention, with Steve Katz widely credited as the first-ever CISO.
Electricity parallel: 6% vs 3x productivity
Superficial adoption of electricity gave factories only 6% efficiency gains; fully redesigning factories around it delivered a 3x productivity improvement that powered 20th-century US growth.
Caddyshack: cast did drugs every day on set
Harold Ramis recounted that during Caddyshack filming, storms kept the cast cooped up in a Florida hotel for days, during which they partied and did drugs all day and night.
China was 25% of global output in 1820s
In the 1820s, China accounted for 25% of global economic output, making it the world's largest economic machine — a historical precedent for its current AI superpower ambitions.
444 days hostage crisis
66 Americans held hostage at the US Embassy in Iran were released after 444 days, within hours of Reagan's inauguration.
508 TOW missiles sent to Iran
In the first round of the secret arms deal, 508 TOW missiles were transferred from Israel to Iran in exchange for hostage releases.
2,000 missiles in 8 shipments
America secretly transferred 2,000 missiles and missile parts to Iran across 8 separate shipments over just over a year.
Only 3 of 7 hostages released
Despite all the missile sales, only 3 of the 7 American hostages held by Lebanese terrorists were ultimately released.
Plane shot down at 2,500 feet in daylight
The CIA supply plane that blew open the scandal was flying at only 2,500 feet in broad daylight when it was shot down on October 5, 1986.
