Ishmael Beah was interviewed about his book A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. As a boy of 12, Mr. Beah was forced to become a soldier in Sierra Leone's civil war. He spoke about his wartime experiences, the impact of violence and conflict on his generation, coming to the United States, and the role of storytelling in his life.