White Man's Grave by Richard Dooling — A novel set in Sierra Leone that captures the country's atmosphere, superstitions, and bush culture better than most non-fiction. Published in 1994, it remains the most evocative English-language fiction set in the country.
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah — A memoir by a Sierra Leonean author about his experience as a child soldier during the civil war. Essential reading for understanding what happened.
Fighting for the Rain Forest: War, Youth and Resources in Sierra Leone by Paul Richards — Academic but accessible analysis of the causes of the civil war. Argues it was less about ethnicity and more about frustrated youth, land rights, and resource struggles.
The Devil That Danced on the Water by Aminatta Forna — A Sierra Leonean-British writer's investigation into the killing of her father, a Sierra Leonean politician, under the Stevens regime in 1975. Part memoir, part political history. Excellent.