This book is a gesture of confidence in the world-mindedness of young people, in their maturity of approach and breadth of interest. We hope this is not misplaced, and that this really significant study of one of the key figures in the emerging nations will be as widely read as it deserves. At no point is it written down to the presumed level of youth. While more is told of his childhood and early education years than might be done in an adult biography, the focus is on the years of struggling to reach the goal he early envisioned freedom for Ghana. It is almost too detailed in tracing successive steps, success less often than setbacks, with ultimate achievement. Perhaps the most important part of the book is the careful and objective handling of these ticklish first years of freedom -- of the dangers of autocracy and divergence from the democratic processes and of choosing to do the things that might seem window dressing (such as the new harbor) instead of attacking the needs of the people at the grass roots (water for the villages instead of highways). But in the main this is a book to recommend to adults as well as young people.