An review of Ernest Harsch's work Thomas Sankara: An African Revolutionary

The integration of the radical and revolutionary far left into Africa's political landscape historically is a topic that continues to remain hugely influential in understanding the development and transition to democracy for Africa and the means by which colonial exploitation and racial discrimination could be better understood. These aspects of African history when observed from the perspective of many Western imperial powers, however, tend to be somewhat obscured by ideals of colonial eulogy and the legacy of the British Empire in relation to its assistance of the UK's influence as both a cultural and imperial  superpower. It is through books such as this that a greater insight into the individuals and political philosophies that the voice of the oppressed and those fighting for emancipation can be better heard and understood. Harsch's engaging and brilliantly written biography in which Sankara's political career, as well as his personal interests, ambitions and experiences, effectively reflects on this and acts as a means of commemorating Burkina Faso's revolutionary history, and celebrating what positive change had been achieved for African society thanks to the humanitarian and socially revolutionary activities of individuals such as Sankara.

Harsch emphasises Sankara's emphasis on grassroots and community led methods of achieving revolution and assisting social development, which functioned on a small scale and proved to be accessible to the people, through the gaining of support through their relations to the basic interests of the population, as opposed to seeking to dismantle large power structures and dissolve capitalist and imperial systems, in spite of well presented and clearly defined anti-colonial, anti-war and anti-apartheid views being very much ingrained within Sankara's values.