I’m going to admit something I’m not proud of: I judge (harshly) books and authors who get into bed with Oprah or Starbucks or Wal-Mart or any other gigantic corporate entity whose ultimate goal is to move product. Think of me what you will but I thoroughly enjoyed when Jonathan Franzen rebuked Oprah. If I was a reasonable person, I’d withhold judgment until I read the material in question (except The Secret — like heroin, some things you don’t have to experience to know they’re bad). But I know I’m not alone. I know many of you, to varying degrees, feel as I do about these matters. Starbucks is behind it? Eh, I’ll pass. Oprah sticker? You won’t catch me dead with that in my hand. Etc.

So, I was a little disappointed when I heard Ishmael Beah’s extremely important book A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier was going to be in every Starbucks in the country. However, I got over myself in a hurry when I realized what it meant. Beah’s story is so important that it needs to be read by as many people as possible and if Starbucks wants to help in that effort, more power to them. In fact, the only thing that would make me happier is if Oprah picked it next.

Tonight, with my absurd elitism left at the door, I joined an overflow audience at Elliott Bay Book Co. to see Beah speak and read from his book. He was charming, self-effacing, and sincere as he spoke about wanting to put a human face on the images we see of African violence. He described people who aren’t much different from us at all. He described formerly happy people who supported each other in tight-knit communities who were turned against one another by a corrupt power structure. The only difference between Beah’s countrymen and us are their circumstances, he said. Given the same set of circumstances, war and unspeakable violence could occur anywhere. And, inevitably, it does. And therein lies the hope. Change the circumstances and you change the people. Beah’s own life proves that point in a remarkable way.

After an uncommonly sincere standing ovation, Beah began signing books. As I inched closer to the front of the line, I started formulating a question for him. I wondered to myself what the reaction in Sierra Leone was to his book. The war is mostly over but the corrupt political structure still exists and with elections scheduled for July, there’s uncertainty about how long the peace will last. Even though Beah doesn’t directly criticize Sierra Leone’s leadership in his book, the implication is obvious. How does a government conscript thousands of children to fight a war caused by its own corruption and not feel threatened by a profoundly eloquent spokesperson who is getting lots of attention in the international community? Do the people of Sierra Leone feel bouyed by his efforts? When I got to the front, I asked him. Imagine my embarrassment when he laughed and said, “There is no reaction. Most of them are more worried about finding food than reading a book. But I’m hoping to change that.”

Change the circumstances, change the people.

More about Ishmael Beah at his website and a very good interview with Jon Stewart here.