By Yunus S Saliu
The second edition of a book that interprets Gambia’s past entitled Patriot Profiles of Eminent Gambians is now released to bookstand and market for wide audience of the readerships who have been demanding for it.
Patriot Profiles of Eminent Gambians is a book authored by the erudite and notable Gambian historian Hassoum Ceesay. The first edition of the book was published in 2015 by Global Hands Publishing and the second edition, The Gambia National Museum 2021.
Commenting on the book, the author, Hassoum Ceesay explained that the book gives profiles of eminent men and women whose deeds have helped shape Gambian history.
The book, he said, seeks to fill the gap of biographical material in Gambian history “this is important because the history of any society simultaneously tells us the stories of the lives and times of the main characters of that society and particular period.”
According to him, the Gambian men and women profiled in the book for example belonged to and operated in different milieu, contexts and epochs.
From the evidence presented in the book, “it is clear that they were patriots to the core who cared for the welfare of their people and did their best to mould a better Gambia amidst the uncertainty and subjugation of colonial rule or the lean and uncertain times of post-independence,”
Mr Ceesay explained that the book has been well improved with other materials that make it more demanding and more so, he has masterfully dragged the characters from historical oblivion and shifted them from the marginalia to the centre spread of Gambian history.
The book, Patriot Profiles of Eminent Gambians is 188 pages and it consists of 36 chapters printed by Baobab Printers, while the author dedicated it to Haddy Mbombeh, Assan and Habib and also to professor Toby Green for his mentorship.
Chapters in the book includes Fenda Lawrence (1742-1800); Kemintang Kamara (1770-1841), Sir John Mahoney (1883-1966); Edward Francis Small (1890-1987); Mama Tamba Jammeh (1890-1987), Father Thomas Gregory Jobe (1906-1995); Assan Musa Camara (1923-2013); Eric Herbert Christensen (1923-1987); Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara (1924-2019, Yahya A J J Jammeh (1965 – )
About the Author
Hassoum Ceesay is a leading Gambian historian, author and culture administrator. His earlier works on Gambian history include two books on the role of women in Gambian history and the first full length biography of PS Njie, the Gambian nationalist leader titled Founding Father: PS Njie, a Moral Biography (The Gambia National Museum Publishing, 2018).
His articles have also appeared in leading history journals such as Journal of Mande Studies, Africa: Journal of The International African Institute, SOAS Bulleting and African Economic History Journal. He is currently Director General, National Centre for Arts and Culture.