His image is unmistakable: with beret and broad grin, Thomas Sankara's picture is pasted on run-down taxis and seen on the walls of local bars throughout Africa. Known widely as the African Che Guevara, Sakara was Burkina Faso's president from August 1983 until October 1987, when he was killed in a military coup led by Blaise Compaoré. His revolutionary ideas for African self-reliance made him an icon to many of Africa's poor, and he remains immensely popular to this day.

In Thomas Sankara, Jean-Claude Kongo and Leo Zeilig trace Sankara's life in the context of major events in Africa's history; present and contextualize a selection of his speeches, broadcasts, and interviews; and reflect on his legacy, including the 2014 overthrow of President Compaoré in a popular uprising.