<P> The dispute over Beah's credibility arose at a time when the exposure of some "fictional" memoirs, such as Margaret Seltzer's account of growing up in a Los Angeles crime gang and James Frey's account of drug addiction, had led to debate over the nature of the genre . The controversy was followed up in international publications including the British Sunday Times, Slate, and the Village Voice . </P> <P> Beah had claimed to have a "photographic memory", which enabled him to have perfect recall of the events he described, leaving him "less room to maneuver" than if he had allowed room for human error . However, some of his defenders as well as his critics allowed for the possibility that his account was not entirely accurate, stating that the main point was that he had drawn attention to an issue that was of vital importance . Possible explanations for any inaccuracies include the trauma of war as experienced by a young child, the drug use described in his account, and the possibility that Beah was tacitly encouraged by outsiders to compile stories from multiple sources into a singular autobiographical account . </P> <P> Neil Boothby, an academic who has undertaken extensive research into children and war, said that while all of the atrocities described by Beah have occurred at various points, it would be highly unusual for one child to have experienced them all . Boothby criticized the mentality that provided attention only to those with the most horrific stories to tell, thus encouraging exaggeration . "I've seen it over and over . Whether by psychologists or journalists, they are encouraged to tell the sensational stories...The system is set up to reward sensational stories . We all need to look at why does something have to be so horrific before we open our eyes and ears and hearts?" </P>

A long way gone memoirs of a child soldier