Good guy, bad words

I've said before how much I like Thomas Sowell but not his writing. Here's a great example why:

During the first two decades after African nations gained their independence in the 1960s, one sub-Saharan nation that stood out with its economic prosperity and political stability amid economic disasters and social catastrophes among its neighbors was the Ivory Coast under President Felix Houphouet-Boigny.

"During amid among was under." C'mon, Tom. Hire an editor.