African history Books

Book SynopsisThe 1996 South African Constitution was promulgated on 18th December 1996 and came into effect on 4th February 1997. Its aspirational provisions promised to transform South Africa''s economy and society along non-racial and egalitarian lines. Following the twentieth anniversary of its enactment, this book, co-edited by Rosalind Dixon and Theunis Roux, examines the triumphs and disappointments of the Constitution. It explains the arguments in favor of the Constitution being replaced with a more authentically African document, untainted by the necessity to compromise with ruling interests predominant at the end of apartheid. Others believe it remains a landmark attempt to create a society based on social, economic, and political rights for all citizens, and that its true implementation has yet to be achieved. This volume considers whether the problems South Africa now faces are of constitutional design or implementation, and analyses the Constitution''s external influence on constitutionTable of Contents1. Introduction Rosalind Dixon and Theunis Roux; 2. Mission in progress: towards an assessment of South Africa's Constitution at 20 Catherine O'Regan; 3. The performance of socio-economic rights in the South African Constitution David Bilchitz; 4. Proceduralism's promise: the Constitutional Court, social and economic rights and democracy Steven Friedman; 5. Corruption, the rule of law and the role of independent institutions Heinz Klug; 6. Violence against women in South Africa: constitutional responses and opportunities Beth Goldblatt; 7. Toward reparative transformation: revisiting the impact of violence against women in a post-TRC South Africa Andrea Durbach; 8. The constitutional goal of transforming education: the South African Constitutional Court in comparative perspective Julie C. Suk; 9. Race, inclusiveness and transformation of legal education in South Africa Penelope Andrews; 10. The contribution of the South African Constitution to Kenya's Constitution Jill Cottrell Ghai and Yash Ghai; 11. Multi-stage constitution-making: from South Africa to Chile? Joel Colón-Ríos; 12. A cure for coups: the South African influence on Fijian constitutionalism Coel Kirkby; 13. Policing democracy: the influence of South Africa's post-apartheid security arrangements on police oversight under Kenya's 2010 Constitution Richard Stacey; 14. The diffusion of South African-style institutions? A study in comparative constitutionalism Charles Manga Fombad; 15. Constitutionalism, legitimacy, and public order: a South African case study Aziz Z. Huq; 16. South African social rights jurisprudence and the global canon: a revisionist view David Landau.

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Book SynopsisBoasting an in-depth analyses of individual texts over half a century, this intriguing history of the dynamics of Islam and culture in modern Egypt presents the conflict between tradition and secular values in a challenging new light. Including literature and film as crucial sources, this book is accessible to general readers and scholars alike.Trade Review'This is a scholarly achievement of the highest caliber. Salama goes to great lengths to offer a compelling (re)reading of Egypt's cultural history through the lens of literary theory in a project intent on deciphering the codes connecting Islam, culture, and modernity. He boldly identifies vital intersections between the formative tenets of modernity and conventions of Islamic thought … Salama's book is bound to provoke vital debate that will enrich knowledge and elevate consciousness of a moment of history in Egypt's culture which current generations are in dire need of revisiting and contemplating, as Salama does, armed with tools of contemporary literary theory. It shows us that we must not be content with reading our history using only the tools of the past. Modernity does not have a definitive endpoint and therefore readings and re-readings can only yield positive epistemologies and fresh understandings of both Islam and modernity.' Gaber Asfour, Cairo University and Former Minister of Culture, Egypt'Professor Mohammad Salama raises the perennial question of identity in modern times, in this case Egyptian identity … [he] has written an outstanding book not just for literary scholars and historians in Arabic studies but for all those reflecting on first world and third world culture.' Peter Gran, Temple University, Pennsylvania'This is a critically self-assured, excitingly competent, and beautifully written book. It is nothing less than a most formative treatment of a precisely delineated, historical slice of literary - but also broadly cultural - time that made Modern Egypt … This book may very well become the recommended - if not obligatory - reading for the present Egyptian generation: old and young.' Jaroslav Stetkevych, University of Chicago'This is a groundbreaking book. Salama's goal is to address 'the relationship between Islam, culture and history' (p. 216) in twentieth-century Egypt, and he does an outstanding job of presenting relevant examples to his readers, from the first novel (Zaynab) to the films of Youssef Chahine. He personalizes and makes engaging his journey along the way, but never loses sight of important theoretical insights by both Arab and Western critics, and how they can illuminate the course of events he treats. No student of modern Arabic literature and culture can afford to be unacquainted with this work.' Terri DeYoung, University of Washington'Islam and the Culture of Modern Egypt is another insightful discussion of a field that has been inviting heated and also rigorous debates. In his effort to tackle issues of culture, modernity, and Islam, Salama offers a significant contribution to the intellectual history of Egypt.' Muhsin al-Musawi, Columbia University'Islam and the Culture of Modern Egypt is a tour de force treating the reader to a unique behind the scenes glimpse into the heart of Egyptian history and politics in the last century. In a highly original, lucid, and comparatively sophisticated diction, Mohammad Salama proves that despite Islam's contested and celebrated reiterations in Egypt's philosophical, literary, and cinematic production, it continues to shape our understanding of a precarious national identity during colonial, Islamist, Nasserist, Pan-Arabism, and revolutionary times. A vital contribution to the fields of Arab cultural and Islamic studies.' Hanadi Al-Samman, University of Virginia'His close readings of texts ... are often subltle and enlightening.' Raphael Cormack, Times Literary SupplementTable of ContentsPreface; A note on transliteration and translation; Introduction: prelude, considerations, and definitions; 1. History matters; 2. Nahḍa-t Miṣr: Zaynab and the cultural Renaissance of modern Egypt; 3. Blindness and insight: challenging the sacred/secular divide in Ṭāhā Ḥusayn's The Days; 4. An Egyptian Sophocles: Qurʾānic inspiration in Tawfīq al-Ḥakīm's People of the Cave; 5. Writing the mad text: freedom, modernity and God in Naguib Mahfouz's 'The Whisper of Madness'; 6. Islamism writes back: Alī Aḥmad Bākāthīr's Red Revolutionary and the dismantling of the secular; 7. Realism and utopian irony in Yūsuf Idrīs's Faraḥāt's Republic; 8. Islam and secular nationalism in a film age: unveiling Youssef Chahine's Gamīla al-Gazā'iriyya; Appendix 1: 'The Whisper of Madness'; Appendix 2: an interview with Youssef Chahine; Appendix 3: feature films produced in Egypt from 1927–62; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisThe hunter-gatherers of southern Africa known as ''Bushmen'' or ''San'' are not one single ethnic group, but several. They speak a diverse variety of languages, and have many different settlement patterns, kinship systems and economic practices. The fact that we think of them as a unity is not as strange as it may seem, for they share a common origin: they are an original hunter-gatherer population of southern Africa with a history of many thousands of years on the subcontinent. Drawing on his four decades of field research in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, Alan Barnard provides a detailed account of Bushmen or San, covering ethnography, archaeology, folklore, religious studies and rock-art studies as well as several other fields. Its wide coverage includes social development and politics, both historically and in the present day, helping us to reconstruct both human prehistory and a better understanding of ourselves.Trade Review'This book provides a masterful synthesis of what is over a century of ethnographic research, but it is in advocating for anthropology to not lose sight of the value of comparison … that it makes a broad and valuable contribution to the discipline.' Megan Laws, AnthroposTable of Contents1. 'Bushmen': unity and diversity; 2. The politics of indigeneity; 3. How far back can we go?; 4. Discovery and destruction of the /Xam; 5. The !Xoõ and their neighbours; 6. G/wi, G//ana and the central Kalahari; 7. Naro: 'Central', 'Northern' or unique?; 8. Ju/'hoansi or !Kung: classic San; 9. Hai//om: Khoekhoe-speaking San; 10. Bushmen of the Okavango; 11. Sharing the land with others; 12. Conclusions.

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Book SynopsisMilitary coups are a constant threat in Africa and many former military leaders are now in control of ''civilian states'', yet the military remains understudied, especially over the last decade. Drawing on extensive archival research, cross-national data, and four in-depth comparative case studies, When Soldiers Rebel examines the causes of military coups in post-independence Africa and looks at the relationship between ethnic armies and political instability in the region. Kristen A. Harkness argues that the processes of creating and dismantling ethnically exclusionary state institutions engenders organized and violent political resistance. Focusing on rebellions to protect rather than change the status quo, Harkness sheds light on a mechanism of ethnic violence that helps us understand both the motivations and timing of rebellion, and the rarity of group rebellion in the face of persistent political and economic inequalities along ethnic lines.Trade Review'Kristen A. Harkness has revived the important subject of military politics and ethnicity, and she has shown not merely whom the likely coup makers are but under what conditions they are likely to strike. This is a very valuable addition to the field.' Donald L. Horowitz, Duke University, North Carolina'When Soldiers Rebel is a path-breaking, highly original, and forceful book on the causes of coups in post-independence Africa. The case studies are thorough, engaging and persuasive. Compellingly written, When Soldiers Rebel is an elegant and extremely plausible answer to a very important and long-standing question of comparative and international politics.' Hein Goemans, University of Rochester'Harkness' impressive book sheds new light on the prevalence of military coups in ethnically divided African countries. Full of interesting data and carefully argued, her study convincingly demonstrates that the efforts of rulers to exclude formerly privileged groups often leads to rebellion. It will constitute essential reading for students of the military and ethnic conflict for the foreseeable future.' Nicholas Van de Walle, Cornell University, New York'A major addition to the literature on ethnic conflict, African politics, and the dynamics of the state. Original, tough-minded, and compelling.' Richard English, author of Does Terrorism Work?: A History'In sum, [Harkness'] theory on [soldiers'] ethnic rebel behaviour offers a rich and new perspective on prevailing challenges in Sub-Sahara Africa: civil military relations and preventing military-led coups. In addition, her volume makes an important contribution to the literature on ethnic conflicts as well as democratization research by explaining how armed forces influence democratic transition and consolidation.' Lars Pelke, DemocratizationTable of ContentsIntroduction; 1. Ethnicity, military patronage, and soldier rebellion; 2. Statistical tests: ethnic armies and the coup d'état; 3. Building ethnic armies: Cameroon and Sierra Leone; 4. Creating inclusive armies: Senegal and Ghana; 5. Dismantling ethnic armies: African militaries and democratization; Conclusion; Appendix A. Preindependence ethnic violence and ethnic politicization; Appendix B. Military coup data; Appendix C. Ethnicity and the military data; Appendix D. Supplementary material for regression analysis.

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Book SynopsisStone tools are the least familiar objects that archaeologists recover from their excavations, and predictably, they struggle to understand them. Eastern Africa alone boasts a 3.4 million-year-long archaeological record but its stone tool evidence still remains disorganized, unsynthesized, and all-but-impenetrable to non-experts, and especially so to students from Eastern African countries. In this book, John J. Shea offers a simple, straightforward, and richly illustrated introduction in how to read stone tools. An experienced stone tool analyst and an expert stoneworker, he synthesizes the Eastern African stone tool evidence for the first time. Shea presents the EAST Typology, a new framework for describing stone tools specifically designed to allow archaeologists to do what they currently cannot: compare stone tool evidence across the full sweep of Eastern African prehistory. He also includes a series of short, fictional, and humorous vignettes set on an Eastern African archaeologicTrade Review'… the typology presented here is far-reaching and covers a vast chronological and geographic span. For students, this book presents a very good overview of East African prehistory focused on the stone tool record and the basics of lithic technology, as well as providing a new means by which to approach lithic assemblages. For new and established researchers this book prompts us to question why we study lithics, what information can be gained from them and how can we develop, as a discipline, our methodologies so as to address the big questions of palaeoanthropology and human behaviour.' Tomos Proffitt, Journal of African Archaeology'… Shea is unquestionably one of the most experienced lithic knappers and analysts currently working in Africa. This guide is therefore a sound reference book for students looking to acquire the basics of lithic analysis and East African prehistory …' Katja Douze, African Archaeological Review'With authority, clarity, and often his characteristic wit, Shea expertly presents the breadth of Eastern African lithic archaeology, providing the first thorough review of the region in more than half a century (Cole, 1954). This work lives up to its name and is likely to become standard reading and reference for students interested in not only Eastern Africa, but stone tool technology more broadly.' Evan Patrick Wilson, Lithic Technology'The book is explicitly intended for students. It is nonetheless highly recommended to all lithic analysts working in eastern Africa (or indeed any other part of the continent) as a reference and teaching manual.' Steven T. Goldstein, Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa'Impressively, this guide offers … one of the most comprehensive syntheses of Eastern African stone tool evidence to date … This guide, and the associated EAST Typology, is a welcome addition to the reading list of any student or professional interested in African archeology. The style, content and nature of the book is ideally pitched as an introduction for those with little to no prior knowledge of the Eastern African stone tool record, providing helpful guidance, clear illustrations and detailed descriptions. Its extensive coverage of Eastern African stone tool evidence is outstanding but not overwhelming for beginners due to its simple and straightforward language. The EAST Typology is an easy to-use yet comprehensive mode-based system that could be easily adopted by students and professionals alike.' Lucy Timbrell, Evolutionary Anthropology'… the book will prove a useful reference for decades to come.' Christian A. Tryon, American Antiquity'Shea's book [offers] profound insights by which we can improve the archaeological enterprise in China and East Asia.' Yongxian Wang, Asian ArchaeologyTable of Contents1. Introduction; 2. Stone tools: essential terms and concepts; 3. How to read stone tools; 4. Eastern Africa; 5. The Eastern African lithic record; 6. Cores and tools; 7. Flakes/detached pieces; 8. Retouched pieces; 9. Percussors and groundstone artifacts; 10. Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisThe Arab Uprisings of 2010 and 2011 had a profound effect on labor politics in the region, with trade unions mobilizing to an extent never before seen. How did these formerly quiescent trade unions become militant? What linkages did they make to other social forces during and after the revolutions? And why did Tunisian unions emerge cohesive and influential while Egyptian unions were fractured and lacked influence? Following extensive interviews, Ian M. Hartshorn answers these questions and assesses how unions forged alliances, claimed independence, and cooperated with international groups. Looking at institutions both domestically and internationally, he traces the corporatist collapse and the role of global labor in offering training and new possibilities for disgruntled workers. With special attention to the relationship with rising Islamist powers, he also examines the ways in which political parties tried to use labor, and vice versa, and provides a detailed study of the role of labor in ousting the first Islamist governments.Table of Contents1. Trade union politics before and after the Arab uprisings; 2. Corporatist collapse in Egypt; 3. Egypt's failures to reconsolidate corporatism; 4. Corporatist collapse in Tunisia; 5. Tunisia's struggle to reconsolidate; 6. Constitutional crises and Islamist competition; 7. Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisDespite Ghana''s strong democratic track record in recent decades, the economy remains underdeveloped. Industrial policies are necessary to transform the colonial trading economy that Ghana inherited at independence, but successive governments have been unwilling or unable to implement them. In this highly original interpretation, supported by new empirical material, Lindsay Whitfield exposes the reasons for why the Ghanaian economy remains underdeveloped and sets her theory in the wider African context. She offers a new way of thinking about the political economy of Africa that charts a clear path away from defining Africa in terms of neopatrimonial politics and that provides new conceptual tools for addressing what kind of business-state relations are necessary to drive economic development. As a study of Ghana that addresses both the economy and politics from early colonialism to the present day, this is a must-read for any student or scholar interested in the political economy of dTrade Review'This important book, which synthesizes the large Ghana scholarship as well as using lots of original research by the author, makes a strong case for the country monograph and the generation of new knowledge about actually existing societies through serious, long-term fieldwork. At the same time, its comparative and theoretical relevance is much broader: as a companion volume to the influential The Politics of Industrial Policy in Africa, it clearly outlines the difficulties of transforming African states in a context of competitive clientelism and weak domestic capitalists. A must read for all interested in African political economy, the politics of development, and debates about economic diversification more generally.' Ricardo Soares de Oliveira, University of Oxford 'There is a growing consensus that we need to know more about who controls the economy, and how they do so, if we are to better understand contemporary Africa. This thorough and powerfully argued volume answers these questions for the case of Ghana. We need to read it, learn its lessons, and hope that it will inspire others to do the same for other African states.' Nic Cheeseman, University of Birmingham'This book provides a convincing argument for the importance of industrial policy but it also explains the deep political constraints that confront countries with ambitious plans to industrialize. The detailed and extensive research on Ghana that underpins this book is impressive. The book advances an argument about the role of power in shaping economic outcomes that goes beyond conventional institutional analysis. It should be required reading for students and policy makers in an era when industrial policy is gaining increasing attention.' Hazel Gray, University of Edinburgh'This book makes an exceptionally lucid and wide-ranging contribution to the literature the political economy of Ghanaian development, representing the distillation of over a decade of research by Whitfield on Ghana's puzzling lack of economic transformation. By examining the challenges to economic development in a country with a relatively positive trajectory of democratic governance, Whitfield's analysis resonates far beyond Ghana, raising crucial questions about how democracy and economic development might be achieved in tandem … This book is essential reading for all those concerned with understanding why structural transformation has proved such an intractable challenge in Ghana, and what this implies for the prospects for development in postcolonial African states more broadly.' Tom Goodfellow, University of SheffieldTable of Contents1. Ghanaian political economy and the politics of industrial policy; 2. Origins of competitive clientelism and weak domestic capitalists; 3. Return to competitive clientelism in the fourth republic; 4. Economic growth, but maintaining the colonial trading economy; 5. Challenges to diversifying exports: accessing global markets and learning to learn; 6. Challenges to modernizing agro-processing: struggles over inputs, organizing smallholders, and enforcing contracts; 7. NPP government and the not so 'Golden Age of Business'; 8. NDC II Government and managing the new oil wealth.

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Book SynopsisThe twentieth century has brought considerable political, social, and economic change for South Africa. While many would choose to focus only on the issues of race, segregation, and apartheid, this book tries to capture another facet: its drive towards modernisation and industrialisation. While considering the achievements and failures of that drive, as well as how it related to ethnic and racial policy making, Bill Freund makes the economic data come alive by highlighting people and places. He proposes that South Africa in the twentieth century can actually be understood as a nascent developmental state, with economic development acting as a key motivating factor. As a unique history of South Africa in the twentieth century, this will appeal to anyone interested in a new interpretation of modern South African economic development or those in development studies searching for striking historical examples.Trade Review'Painstakingly researched, across detail and sweep of change, and authored by a leading scholar of African economic history, this volume is of profound significance not only for understanding the economic history of South Africa but also for the light shed on the contemporary unravelling in which the post-apartheid state finds itself.' Ben Fine, University of London'Freund's latest title is an important landmark, showing the transformation of radical scholarship in recent years … [his] is an important book that opens up new fields of urban research.' Timothy Gibbs, The English Historical ReviewTable of Contents1. Twentieth-century South Africa: a developmental history; 2. The conflicted foundations of industrial policy; 3. Industrial development in South Africa up to World War II – some figures and some business history; 4. A (near) developmental state forms 1939–48; 5. The impact of Apartheid 1948–73; 6. The Parastatals ISCOR and SASOL; 7. Key institutions: the IDC, the CSIR, the HSRC; 8. The company towns of the Vaal Triangle; 9. Energy and the natural environment; 10. Developmentalism dismantled.

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Book SynopsisDespite being central to the development of Saharan regional connectivity, northern Chad has been closed to researchers since the late 1960s and thus remains virtually unknown to scholarship. Based on long-term fieldwork, The Value of Disorder is an original and in-depth account of the area and its Tubu majority inhabitants. Julien Brachet and Judith Scheele examine trans-border connectivity and trade; civil war and rebellion; wealth creation and dispersal; labour and gender relations; and aspirations to moral autonomy in northern Chad from an internal point of view - a point of view that in turn participates in a dynamic process of regional interdependence. Vividly ethnographic, the book gives precedence to local categories of value, while asking broader questions about the nature of non-state regional political organisation. Questions that inform current political developments in the Sahara more widely, and have the potential to challenge key concepts in Saharan studies and the sociaTable of ContentsIntroduction; 1. A never-ending conquest: settlement and the making of a Saharan town; 2. Fifty shades of Khaki: armed conflict and other entanglements; 3. Trouble in the Palm-Grove: labour, status, ownership; 4. Tricks of trade: production, protection and predation; 5. Great ploys and small expectations: accumulation and dispersal in a half-world; 6. The state encompassed: everyday disorder, the aesthetics of violence, and the political imagination; Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisIs there an inevitable global violent clash unfolding between the world''s largest religions: Islam and Christianity? Do religions cause violent conflicts, or are there other factors at play? How can we make sense of increasing reports of violence between Christian and Muslim ethnic communities across the world? By seeking to answer such questions about the relationship between religion and violence in today''s world, Ziya Meral challenges popular theories and offers an alternative explanation, grounded on insights inferred from real cases of ethno-religious violence in Africa and the Middle East. The relationship between religion and violence runs deep and both are intrinsic to the human story. Violence leads to and shapes religion, while religion acts to enable violence as well as providing responses that contain and prevent it. However, with religious violence being one of the most serious challenges facing the modern world, Meral shows that we need to de-globalise our analysis and Trade Review'Ziya Meral challenges our assumptions about religious violence, drawing from a broad range of scholarship and grounding it all on a deep analysis of case studies in Nigeria and Egypt. The result is a fascinating reminder of how narratives promoted particularly in the West impact local conflicts and narrow our understanding of the relationship between religion and violence in human history.' Reza Aslan, author of Zealot and God: A Human History'Ziya Meral has written an eye-opening study that explains how religion and violence interact in conflicts, particularly in Africa and the Middle East. It challenges the reader to think beyond common arguments that either make religion the cause of violence or brush away the role played by religion in violent conflicts. It is a must-read for anyone who seeks a deeper understanding of this complex topic.' Hassan Hassan, co-author of ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror'A fascinating book which highlights the need for the West to recognize the critical relevance of religion in the twenty-first-centuary world. Ziya argues that religion permeates and resonates with profound significance across the world view of billions of people, shapes our understanding of an uncertain world, with alternately constructive and highly destructive narratives. We should never be surprised by the human capacity to tend towards violence. It is in our fallen human nature. But the true beauty of this book lies in the account that, through networks and the communities of the faithful, extraordinary stories of forgiveness, truth and reconciliation can be found, yielding the very foundations for re-building broken lives.' Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury'In How Violence Shapes Religion, Ziya Meral turns conventional assumptions about the relationship between religion and militancy on their head. His careful and thorough case studies demonstrate that the question - indeed, the very direction - of causality between faith and violence is anything but straightforward. This is a must-read for anyone - scholars, students, policymakers - wishing to understand the complex sociology of religion and violence in the contemporary world.' Peter Mandaville, George Mason University, VirginiaTable of Contents1. Introduction; 2. Religious violence in Nigeria; 3. Religious violence in Egypt; 4. Comparative analysis of violence in Nigeria and Egypt; 5. Religion and violence in a global age.

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Book SynopsisHow did Zulu Radio in apartheid South Africa, intended to stifle debate, become one of the largest stations in Africa? Gunner maps the fashioning of a modernising Black culture through radio and highlights links between these media figures with writers and political leaders from Harlem to the American South.Trade Review'… Gunner's investigation of the BBC archives as well as deep knowledge of Zulu sources living and passed away is second to none and gives her account of radio and the black modern a personal voice as well as the gravity of history.' Loren Kruger, Research in African LiteraturesTable of ContentsIntroduction: radio, the SABC and the politics of culture; Part I. Sound and 'Migration': 1. K. E. Masinga, Zulu Radio and the politics of 'migrant' aurality; 2. Remembering the past, making the present: the radio worlds of Alexius Buthelezi 1961–1978; Part II. Distance and Intimacy: 3. Exile: Bloke Modisane and the BBC 1959–1987; 4. 'Africa on the rise': the early 1960s, and the radio Voice of Lewis Nkosi; Part III. Drama, Language, and Daily Life: 5. Untidy boundaries, restless identities: Zulu serial drama in the 1970s; 6. Radio drama in the time of violence: Yiz' Uvalo (In Spite of Fear) December 1986–May 1987; 7. 'Ikusasa Lethu' (Our Tomorrow): the 'glorious decade'? Radio drama of the 1990s; 8. Finding a centre; Conclusion: dances of power; References; Index.

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Book SynopsisAfter Atomic Junction, along the Haatso-Atomic Road there lies the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, home to Africa''s first nuclear programme after independence. Travelling along this road, Abena Dove Osseo-Asare gathers together stories of conflict and compromise on an African nuclear frontier. She speaks with a generation of African scientists who became captivated with ''the atom'' and studied in the Soviet Union to make nuclear physics their own. On Pluton Lane and Gamma Avenue, these scientists displaced quiet farming villages in their bid to establish a scientific metropolis, creating an epicentre for Ghana''s nuclear physics community. By placing interviews with town leaders, physicists and local entrepreneurs alongside archival records, Osseo-Asare explores the impact of scientific pursuit on areas surrounding the reactor, focusing on how residents came to interpret activities on these ''Atomic Lands''. This combination of historical research, personal and ethnographic observatiTrade Review'A carefully researched but also deeply personal history of nuclear science in Ghana. Osseo-Asare's history takes us from Ghanaian nuclear scientists' measurements of fallout from French nuclear tests in Algeria in the early 1960s through to Ghana's acquisition of a nuclear reactor from China in the 1990s, and further into the present day. Commendable for its breadth of perspective and fascinating detail.' Hugh Gusterson, George Washington University, Washington, DC'A meticulous historian with an ethnographer's eye for rich detail, Osseo-Asare boldly overturns standard accounts of Cold War atomic science, placing Ghanaian aspirations for decolonized knowledge and talented black researchers at the center. A brilliant and utterly original rendering of one nation's nuclear dreams that are at once liberatory and frustrated.' Alondra Nelson, President of the Social Science Research Council'… a well-rounded account of an independent African country's nuclear past. Given the author's family ties to Ghana and particularly to the Ghanaian community of nuclear scientists, the story reflects a very personal engagement with the subject. Osseo-Asare has most likely produced the authoritative account of Ghana's nuclear endeavor, including its achievements and setbacks, in a clear and balanced manner.' Robin Möser, African Studies Review'Atomic Junction is a pleasure to read. Osseo-Asare writes with flair and weaves together evidence from a range of archival and oral narratives with major themes in the history of atomic power, science in the Cold War, decolonization, and social and cultural history … This undoubtedly is an important contribution to the growing literature in the history of science and technology in postcolonial Africa.' Jeremy M. Rich, H-Africa'Atomic Junction is a great feat of multidisciplinary research presented in a tightly written and lucid narrative.' Damilola Adebayo, Technology and Culture'… a masterful contribution to the growing scholarship on the history of science and technology in Africa.' Jennifer Hart, H-AfricaTable of ContentsPreface: nuclear reveries; 1. Introduction: 'no country has monopoly of ability'; 2. Nuclear winds: particles without boundaries; 3. Scientific equity: physics from the Soviets; 4. Atomic reactors: a fission facility for Ghana; 5. Radiation within: monitoring particles in bodies; 6. Atomic lands: risks on a nuclear frontier; Epilogue: nuclear power at the crossroads.

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Book SynopsisExamining the Ibadi Muslims of North Africa, this book traces the history of Arabic texts to tell the story of how people and their networks build religious traditions. Combining the study of Arabic manuscripts with digital tools, it explains how this religious community created and maintained a tradition over nearly a millennium.Trade Review'Using network analysis coupled to a scholarly examination of extant manuscripts, Love's study opens new perspectives on the developing traditions of prosopography among the dispersed Ibadi communities of the Maghrib. It would make a stimulating model for examining the reasons behind a generally dissimilar development in Oman.' John C. Wilkinson, Professor Emeritus, University of Oxford'Love's work achieves something rare: it sheds new light on long familiar North African Ibāḍī prosopographical works by focusing on the written networks of scholars implied in their pages, as well as on the lives of the manuscripts. He significantly enriches our knowledge of how Ibāḍīs used books to create tradition and community.' Adam Gaiser, The Florida State University'Love's study of the biographical tradition of the Ibadi communities of North Africa from the eleventh to the fifteenth century, copied and recopied in manuscript and latterly in printed form down to the present day, is a highly original and perceptive analysis of the way in which the tradition has developed and circulated among those communities over the past thousand years, serving to maintain their social cohesion and religious identity in the face of the tide of history. As a contribution not only to the study of the Ibadis, but to the history of Islam itself, it cannot be too highly recommended.' Michael Brett, Emeritus Reader in the History of North Africa, SOASTable of ContentsPrologue. Tunis, 2014; Introduction: mobilizing with manuscripts; 1. Ibadi communities in the Maghrib; 2. Writing a network, constructing a tradition; 3. Sharpening the boundaries of community; 4. Formalizing the network; 5. Paper and people in Northern Africa; 6. Retroactive networking; 7. The end of a tradition; 8. Orbits; 9. Ibadi manuscript culture; Conclusion: (re)inventing an Ibadi tradition; Appendix: extant manuscript copies of the Ibadi prosopographies.

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Book SynopsisTracing the lives and experiences of 100,000 Africans who landed in Sierra Leone having been taken off slave vessels by the British Navy following Britain''s abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, this study focuses on how people, forcibly removed from their homelands, packed on to slave ships, and settled in Sierra Leone were able to rebuild new lives, communities, and collective identities in an early British colony in West Africa. Their experience illuminates both African and African diaspora history by tracing the evolution of communities forged in the context of forced migration and the missionary encounter in a prototypical post-slavery colonial society. A new approach to the major historical field of British anti-slavery, studied not as a history of legal victories (abolitionism) but of enforcement and lived experience (abolition), Richard Peter Anderson reveals the linkages between emancipation, colonization, and identity formation in the Black Atlantic.Trade Review'In this captivating volume, Richard Peter Anderson, tells a story of despair and hope. Centering the narrative around the experiences of Liberated Africans in the British colony of Sierra Leone, Anderson masterfully brings his subjects of study back from oblivion, in what it is by all means a thoroughly researched and wonderfully written text.' Manuel Barcia, University of Leeds'A welcome addition to a growing scholarship on Sierra Leone and the fate of Liberated Africans, whose lives were shaped by displacement, uprooting, and exploitation. Engaging in debates on colonialism, imperialism, and slavery afterlives, it is a must read for scholars working on slavery and the Atlantic World.' Mariana P. Candido, University of Notre Dame, Indiana'This work will quickly become the standard secondary source on the origins, experiences, and identities of the nearly 100,000 recaptive Africans removed from slave ships and barracoons and then taken into Sierra Leone in the first half of the nineteenth century.' David Eltis, Emory University, Atlanta'Richard Peter Anderson's masterful study of ethnicity and ethnogenesis among the recaptives of Sierra Leone is not only an original study of liberated Africans, but a major contribution to our understanding of the fluid nature of identities.' Martin Klein, University of Toronto'Meticulously researched and clearly written, this compelling book reconstructs the origins, experiences, and accomplishments of the approximately 100,000 Africans who were enslaved in the nineteenth century and liberated in Freetown, Sierra Leone as part of the project of abolition. The work shows how through their interactions with one another, missionaries, and British colonial officials the members of this large, diverse, and unusually well documented diaspora resilient forged new communities of belonging in an alien environment where they were granted only limited freedom. It yields rich new insights into the meanings of ethnicity, formation of new identities, and making of the African diaspora on the continent and around the Atlantic. A blend of macro - and micro - history, the text will become a classic.' Kristin Mann, Emory University, Atlanta'Abolition in Sierra Leone is a substantial contribution to the rethinking of identity and community formation among Africans who disembarked in Sierra Leone, a British colony, between 1808 and 1863, following the end of the slave trade … Anderson uses the Transatlantic Slave Trade Database, court records, and the Liberated African registers from Sierra Leone's archives to explore the history of the trauma of enslavement and the brutality of the Middle Passage … Although their welcome was far from warm, the narratives from the registers demonstrate that this new wave of involuntary migrants contributed to a vibrant and evolving set of African identities that remade the colony of Sierra Leone … Highly recommended.' C. Higgs, ChoiceTable of ContentsIntroduction. Sierra Leone: African colony, African diaspora; 1. Liberated African origins and the nineteenth century slave trade; 2. Their own middle passage: voyages to Sierra Leone; 3. 'Particulars of disposal': life and labor after 'liberation'; 4. Liberated African nations: ethnogenesis in an African diaspora; 5. Kings and companies: ethnicity and community leadership; 6. Religion, return, and the making of the Aku; 7. The Cobolo War: Islam, identity, and resistance; Conclusion. Retention or renaissance? Krio descendants and ethnic identity; Appendices. A. 'Nations' of children in CMS school rosters by probable coastline of embarkation, 1816–1824; B. 1848 Sierra Leone census; C. Koelle's Aku informants; D. Liberated African memorials in Freetown churches; Select bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisNortheastern Central African Republic - a vast space bordering Chad, Darfur, and South Sudan - is a quintessential ''stateless'' space, where the government has little presence and armed actors operate freely. In this first ethnographic and historical study of Central African raiding, Louisa Lombard investigates practices of forceful acquisition, a distinctive political repertoire in which claims to social status are linked to the ability to take (from wild spaces, or from others) and are frequently overturned. People have developed raiding skills to survive and live in a stateless borderland for over 150 years. From the trans-Saharan slave trade, to colonial forced labour regimes, big game hunting and coercive conservation, to rebellion, raiding has flourished where people''s status in relation to each other is unclear and where institutional guidance is absent. Hunting Game offers rich comparative insights into the vibrant, if not always salutary, role that forceful acquisition playsTrade Review'In this theoretically engaging new book, she explores how analysis of a “buffer zone” in northern CAR and its dynamics of raiding and hunting can enrich social science. The book is ethnographically very rich, and presents in an engaging way the vast experience of the author in northern CAR.' Valerio Colosio, PoLAR Online'The book is well written, using the sources that the author has mobilized, which include interviews, observations, archives, and iconographies.' Kelma Manatouma, African Studies ReviewTable of Contents1. Introduction: force, status, and uncertainty in arts of acquisition; 2. Zariba contests and collaborations; 3. Manhunt: the dominance of acquisition in an unfortunate colony; 4. Big game hunting and regulatory sociality; 5. The limits of law in coercive conservation; 6. Camouflage skills; 7. Denunciation and liberty; 8. Rebellion: force and hopes for status and entitlement; 9. Conclusion: sovereignty and distribution amid forceful acquisition.

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Book SynopsisThe Tarikh al-fattash is one of the most important and celebrated sources for the history of pre-colonial West Africa, yet it has confounded scholars for decades with its inconsistences and questions surrounding its authorship. In this study, Mauro Nobili examines and challenges existing theories on the chronicle, arguing that much of what we have presumed about the work is deeply flawed. Making extensive use of previously unpublished Arabic sources, Nobili demonstrates that the Tarikh al-fattash was in fact written in the nineteenth century by a Fulani scholar, Nu? b. al-?ahir, who modified pre-existing historiographical material as a political project in legitimation of the West African Islamic state known as the Caliphate of ?amdallahi and its founding leader A?mad Lobbo. Contextualizing its production within the broader development of the religious and political landscape of West Africa, this study represents a significant moment in the study of West African history and of the evolTrade Review'A 'whodunit' par excellence! Nobili's engagement with the Tarikh al-Fattash and the Caliphate of Hamdullahi unravels their complicated, intertwined historiography. He reshapes our understanding of the whole Middle Niger region in the early-to-mid- 19th century and convincingly argues for a re-articulated meaning of authority and power as contested at the time. This book is seminal to the field.' E. Ann McDougall, University of Alberta, Canada'A compelling work of historical and literary detective work, Nobili's study of the Tarikh al-Fattash is an important exploration of the role of Islamic literature and the unseen, in the legitimation of political authority in 19-century Africa. Focusing on the Sultanate of Ahmad Lobbo, Nobili demonstrates not only that the famed Tarikh was a work of relatively recent vintage based on earlier works, but that it was composed at least in part to substantiate Lobbo's claims to authority based on earlier esoteric prophecy. This timely work constitutes a substantial addition to the literature on the intersection between political authority and the Islamic 'unseen'. It will be important reading for anyone interested in Islamic political authority, historiography or the esoteric.' Scott S. Reese, Northern Arizona UniversityTable of ContentsIntroduction; Part I. A Nineteenth Century Chronicle in Support of the Caliphate of Hamdallāhi: Nūḥ B. Al-Ṭāhir's Tārīkh al-fattāsh: 1. A century of scholarship; 2. The Tārīkh al-fattāsh: a nineteenth-century chronicle; Part II. A Contested Space of Compating Claims: the Middle Niger, 1810s–1840s; 3. The emergence of clerical rule in the Middle Niger; 4. Aḥmad Lobbo, Timbuktu, and the Kunta; 5. Fluctuating diplomacy: Ḥamdallāhi and Sokoto; Part III. The Circulation and Reception of the Tārīkh al-fattāsh, 1840s–2010s: 6. The Tārīkh al-fattāsh at work; Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisThis book examines the evolution of fiscal capacity in the context of colonial state formation and the changing world order between 1850 and 1960. Until the early nineteenth century, European colonial control over Asia and Africa was largely confined to coastal and island settlements, which functioned as little more than trading posts. The officials running these settlements had neither the resources nor the need to develop new fiscal instruments. With the expansion of imperialism, the costs of maintaining colonies rose. Home governments, reluctant to place the financial burden of imperial expansion on metropolitan taxpayers, pressed colonial governments to become fiscally self-supporting. A team of leading historians provides a comparative overview of how colonial states set up their administrative systems and how these regimes involved local people and elites. They shed new light on the political economy of colonial state formation and the institutional legacies they left behind at independence.Table of Contents1. Fiscal capacity and the Colonial State. Lessons from a comparative perspective Ewout Frankema and Anne Booth; 2. Towards a modern fiscal state in Southeast Asia, c. 1900–60 Anne Booth; 3. Why was British India a limited state? Tirthankar Roy; 4. Indigenous and colonial institutions in the fiscal development of French Indochina Montserrat López Jerez; 5. Fiscal development in Taiwan, Korea and Manchuria: was Japanese colonialism different? Anne Booth and Kent Deng; 6. From coast to hinterland. Fiscal capacity building in British and French West Africa, c. 1880–1960 Ewout Frankema and Marlous van Waijenburg; 7. New colonies, old tools. Building fiscal systems in East and Central Africa Leigh Gardner; 8. Local conditions and metropolitan visions: fiscal policies and practices in Portuguese Africa, c.1850–1970 Kleoniki Alexopoulou; 9. How mineral discoveries shaped the fiscal system of South Africa Abel Gwaindepi and Krige Siebrits.

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Book SynopsisBetween 1986 and 1994, East Africa''s postcolonial, political settlement was profoundly challenged as four revolutionary ''liberation'' movements seized power in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Uganda. After years of armed struggle against vicious dictatorships, these movements transformed from rebels to rulers, promising to deliver ''fundamental change''. This study exposes, examines and underlines the acute challenges each has faced in doing so. Drawing on over 130 interviews with the region''s post-liberation elite, undertaken over the course of a decade, Jonathan Fisher takes a fresh and empirically-grounded approach to explaining the fast-moving politics of the region over the last three decades, focusing on the role and influence of its guerrilla governments. East Africa after Liberation sheds critical light on the competing pressures post-liberation governments contend with as they balance reformist aspirations with accommodation of counter-vailing interests, historical trajectories and their own violent organisational cultures.Trade Review'Jonathan Fisher's superb study of post-liberation regimes in Uganda, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Rwanda has much to tell us, not only about the states concerned, but about the legacies of liberation war more widely.' Christopher Clapham, University of Cambridge'this book explains how a new set of revolutionary regimes are reshaping politics in east Africa. Fisher draws on a deep knowledge of the region to tell the fascinating stories of leaders, insurgencies and liberation regimes, and the fraught and often surprising relationships between them, to give us a profound insight into Africa's second-generation post-colonial politics.' Julia Gallagher, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London'A path-breaking piece on African liberation movements exposing the untold story of how these regimes have undermined democracy, promoted patronage politics, and entrenched themselves in power … I recommend this book to all readers of African politics.' Sabiti Makara, Makerere University, Uganda'An authoritative and revealing tour of how liberation struggles shaped the politics of contemporary East Africa. Offering a set of challenging propositions as well as an unrivalled feel for East African political behaviour, this book is required reading for anyone interested in learning how politics in this part of the world really works.' William Reno, Northwestern University'An excellent exploration of the four East African liberation armies that seized state power at the end of the Cold War and sought to remake regional political order in their own image. Fisher teaches us that those who led these movements were neither inflexible ideologues nor calculating political operatives. Rather, like most political actors, they were something in-between. This is a foundational text for understanding the regional politics of East Africa today.' Michael Woldemariam, Boston University'This book represents a model for qualitative social science research. The depth of Fisher's understanding of his cases as armed organisations, political movements, and statesmen as well as his appreciation for the humanity of those lionised as heroes of the liberation movement make this an engaging contribution to our understanding of African politics.' Hilary Matfess, The Journal of Development Studies'Focusing on the maturation of liberation movements that came to power between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Uganda, and Rwanda, this engaging, highly detailed book provides a rare view into the development of regional politics.' M. M. Heaton, Choice'Fisher's excellent political history focuses on the countries in East Africa where the current regimes came to power through successful insurgencies decades ago. His book links the fates of Ethiopia, Eritrea, Rwanda, and Uganda and describes the impact of the many links that leaders in the four countries forged before their rises to power.' Foreign Affairs'East Africa after Liberation is not simply a historical chronology of four liberation movements and their changing faces when they came to power. It is a convincing analysis of the regional security arena through a rare glimpse behind the curtain of elite mindsets and cross-state affinities … it is a must read for scholars and practitioners …' Tim Glawion, Perspectives on PoliticsTable of ContentsIntroduction; Part I. Insurgency: 1. East Africa's post-liberation elite and the legacy of insurgency I: movement, state and society; 2. East Africa's post-liberation elite and the legacy of insurgency II: from rebellion to government; Part II. Liberation: 3. From rebels to diplomats: pragmatism, aspiration and mistrust, 1986–1995; 4. Reinventing liberation: revolution and regret in Congo and Sudan, 1995–2000; Part III. Crisis: 5. The disintegration of the Liberation Coalition,1998–2007; 6. From regional conflict to domestic crisis: regime consolidation and the fragmentation of the Old Guard, 2000–07; Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisTelling a neglected history of decolonisation and violence in Burundi, Aidan Russell examines the political language of truth that drove extraordinary change, from democracy to genocide. His study is the only English account of the first postcolonial genocide on the African continent.Trade Review'Aidan Russell has written a powerful and disturbing study of how struggles over power and a government's claim to monopolise truth led to the ethnicisation of politics and to violence in a newly independent country.' Frederick Cooper, New York University'Path-breaking, erudite and meticulously researched, this stands as an impressive achievement. No other work has done more to explicate the paradoxes, subtleties and brutalities of Burundi's tragic history. Few analysts have shown a deeper understanding of the relationship of language (Kirundi) to popular perceptions of truth, and ultimately to politics, than Aidan Russell in this outstanding contribution. I cannot recommend it too highly to anyone seriously interested in making sense of Burundi politics.' René Lemarchand, Professor Emeritus, University of Florida'This book reveals the power and potential of national history as Russell puts language at the center of African politics. Violence and truth, speech and borders, lies and citizenship constitute the history of Burundi after 1962, and they remain in constant tension with every memory and speech about the postcolony.' Luise White, Professor Emerita, University of FloridaTable of ContentsIntroduction: talking politics and watching the border prologue, 1796–1959: people of the land; Part I. 1959–1961: 'To See the Son of a King': 1. Ukuri ni kumwe: talking truth; 2. Ibigendajoro: rebels in the name of the king; Part II. 1961–1967: 'A Most Total Anarchy': 3. Abanyabihuha: talking loyalty; 4. Ukuri n'ubutungane: the fate of the Bourgmestres; Part III. 1968–1972: 'Please Send Me a Car to Take Them Away': 5. Politiques bw'insaku: talking vigilance; 6. Couper tout ce qui dépasse: truth and violence; Conclusion: the Court of Baribuka; Bibliography.

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Book SynopsisThis History explores innovations in African American autobiography since its inception, examining the literary and cultural history of Black self-representation amid life writing studies. By analyzing the different forms of autobiography, including pictorial and personal essays, editorials, oral histories, testimonials, diaries, personal and open letters, and even poetry performance media of autobiographies, this book extends the definition of African American autobiography, revealing how people of African descent have created and defined the Black self in diverse print cultures and literary genres since their arrival in the Americas. It illustrates ways African Americans use life writing and autobiography to address personal and collective Black experiences of identity, family, memory, fulfillment, racism and white supremacy. Individual chapters examine scrapbooks as a source of self-documentation, African American autobiography for children, readings of African American persona poemTable of Contents1. Introduction Joycelyn K. Moody; Part I. Origins and Histories: 2. Black life writing and print culture before 1800 Rhondda Robinson Thomas; 3. Reading the edited 'I' Eric D. Lamore; 4. An overview of nineteenth-century slavery narratives William L. Andrews; 5. 19th-century autobiographical writings by freeborn African Americans John Ernest; 6. African American life writing, 1865-1900 Andreá N. Williams; 7. Black life writing in print cultures at the turn into the twentieth century Lois Brown; 8. New negro autobiographies Cherene Sherrard Johnson; 9. Transnational and postcolonial Afro-Caribbean life writings Nicole Aljoe; 10. Writing race and remembrance in the Civil Rights Movement years Brian J. Norman; 11. The biomedicalization of black life narratives Moya Bailey and Whitney Peoples; Part II. Individuals and Communities: 12. Spiritual autobiography, past and present Cedrick May; 13. Life writings of contemporary African American women Barbara McCaskill; 14. The Autobiography of Malcolm X James Smethurst; 15. Black queer life writing Aliyyah Abdur-Rahman; 16. Black celebrity auto/biographies Anthony Foy; 17. Mixed race autobiographical narratives Caroline Streeter; 18. Black biography and the complexities of telling another's life Tara D. Green; 19. Black lives in persona poems Howard Rambsy II; 20. Depicting African American life in graphics and visual cultures Michael Chaney; 21. Life writing for Black children and youth Giselle Anatol; 22. Telling African American lives in literature for young readers Jonda McNair; 23. Can cups be books? Frances Smith Foster.

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Book SynopsisIn this timely and very readable new work, Walvin focuses not on abolitionism or the brutality and suffering of slavery, but on resistance, the resistance of the enslaved themselves - from sabotage and absconding to full-blown uprisings - and its impact in overthrowing slavery. He also looks that whole Atlantic world, including the Spanish Empire and Brazil. In doing so, he casts new light on one of the major shifts in Western history in the past five centuries. In the three centuries following Columbus''s landfall in the Americas, slavery became a critical institution across swathes of both North and South America. It saw twelve million Africans forced onto slave ships, and had seismic consequences for Africa. It led to the transformation of the Americas and to the material enrichment of the Western world. It was also largely unquestioned. Yet within a mere seventy-five years during the nineteenth century slavery had vanished from the Americas: it declined, collapsed and Trade ReviewOver the years, probably no one has done as much as James Walvin to popularise the history of slavery and abolition. His work is consistently innovative . . . Rather than tackling this story through organised anti-slavery, or what might be thought of as a white narrative, Walvin sets out to 'explore how slaves were the critical element in securing their own freedom', a very different emphasis that reflects growinginterest on both sides of the Atlantic in notions of black resistance . . . Walvin synthesises this complex global history with skill and ingenuity. Freedom is beautifully written and clearly organised . . . thought-provoking, rich in detail and imbued with an emotional intelligence that pushes us to imagine what slave life meant, especially during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. * Family & Community History, Vol. 22/3, October 2019 *A wide-ranging history of resistance during the Atlantic slave trade that reminds us how captives fought their miserable fates every step of the way. -- David Olusoga * BBC History Magazine *

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Book SynopsisJohn Hanning Speke writes about the history of his first two explorations in Africa that led to the discovery of the source of the Nile. The manner in which he traced the Nile down from the Victoria N'yanza, which is the great source or reservoir of the Nile, to Egypt is explained in this book.Table of ContentsSection 1: Journal of Adventures in Somali Land -- Introduction to the Journal -- Projects and hobbies -- Life in India -- Lord Clyde and Sir James Outram -- The position and physical geography of the Somali country -- The Nogal country, and historical sketches -- Costume and CustomsThe voyage -- An Akil -- The Somali shore -- Sultan (Gerad) Mahamed Ali -- Hidden treasure -- The Warsingali -- A royal reception -- Somali appetites -- Difficulties and impediments -- Sultan tries my Abban or protectorYafir Pass -- Rhut Tug (River) -- The ruins at Kin's city -- Abban apprehends future consequences -- Hyenas -- The Dulbahantas -- Camel drivers' tricks -- Briny water -- Antelope-shoooting -- Elephant-hunting -- Ostrich-hunting -- Gazelles -- Jealousy and suspicions of the people -- Rapid decline of propertyMeditations among the tombs -- A fracas -- The return march -- The north-east monsoon -- Relief from persecution -- Interesting animals -- Gori again -- Shooting a woman -- Arrival at Aden -- Fresh projects -- ArrangementsAden -- Departure -- Kurrum -- A conclave of sages -- Arrangement of the expedition -- The south-west monsoon -- Medical practice -- The camp besieged -- Wounded and captive -- A triumphal procession -- Flight Return to Aden and to England -- Fresh projects there. Section 2: Journal of a Cruise on the Tanganyika Lake -- The Royal Geographical Society -- The strange lake on the map -- Set off -- Arrive at Zanzibar -- A preliminary excursion -- A sail along the coast -- The Pangani river -- A jemadar's trick -- Journey to Fuga -- Adventures -- Return to Zanzibar -- Scenes there -- Objects of the expedition -- Recruiting for followers -- The Cafila Bashi -- The start -- Fevers -- Discussions about the Mountains of the Moon and the Victoria N'yanza -- The TanganyikaCanoes -- The crews -- The biography of Bombay -- The voyage -- Crocodiles -- The lake scenery -- Kivira island -- Black beetles -- An adventure with one of them -- Kasengé island -- African slaveryLeave Tanganyika -- Determine to visit the Ukéréwé lake, alias Victoria N'yanza -- Confusion about rivers running in and out -- Idea that it is the source of the Nile -- Arrangements for the journey -- Difficulties -- The march -- Nature of the country -- Formalities at the meeting of caravans -- A pagazi strike -- A sultana -- Incidents -- Pillars of graniteFirst sight of the Victoria N'yanza -- Its physical geography -- Speculations on its being the source of the Nile -- Sport on the lake -- Sultans Machunda and Mahaya -- Missionary accounts of the geography -- Arab accounts -- Regrets at inability to complete the discovery -- The march resumed -- History of the Watuta -- Hippopotamus-hunting -- Adventures -- KahamaGeneral character of the country traversed -- The huts -- The geology -- Productions -- Land of promise -- Advice to missionaries -- Leave Ulekampuri -- Return of the expedition -- Register of temperatureIndex.

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Book SynopsisThis 11 volume set is a compilation of important research on Africa. Some of the topics addressed include: education and income inequality; energy development in sub-Saharan Africa; climate change and remediation and adaption strategies; apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa; human rights issues; oil and natural gas production and resulting security implications; energy research; public health, human rights and socio-economics; political issues, resources and medicine; economic engagement; growth and opportunity, export, trade and investment.

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Book Synopsis"After existing orally for hundreds of years, Sunjata was written down in the 20th century. David Conrad, who recorded a new version of the epic, has now crafted a prose translation that preserves the oral flavor of live performance. The result is a captivating work of literature that will finally give the story of Sunjata its well-deserved place among the great epics of world literature." —Martin Puchner, Byron and Anita Wien Professor of Drama and of English and Comparative Literature, Harvard UniversityTrade Review"Conrad's translation seems to me much clearer and more accessible than Niane’s 1965 rendering. In addition, Conrad's notes are exceedingly useful. His maps, and his notes on the maps, are terrific. "The Sunjata epic speaks to the founding of the great empire of Mali. The introduction situates the epic in the world of the Mande, as a people, culture, and group of languages; it also provides the context for the epic, and explains the meaning of a "bard," origin mythologies, linkage with a founding ancestor, as well as events and their cosmic interpretations. "[In this translation we can hear] a powerful griot voice, chanting about histories, singing about heroes and genealogies, and reciting poetry on memories, all accomplished in ways to give us an expansive entry into the past of a world that forcefully speaks to the present, inviting wonder and imagination about the possibilities for a greater future." —Toyin Falola, University of Texas Austin, and author of A Mouth Sweeter Than Salt"This new prose translation has preserved both the literary aesthetic and the intimacy of a griot performance, while at the same time creating a very readable text. To me, this prose translation is–in spite of absence of some songs typical for the Sunjata narrative–an excellent visualization in print of a performance of the Sunjata epic, in all its complexity. . . . I believe wholeheartedly that this prose translation will reveal to [readers] the beauty of one of the greatest works of mankind." —Jan Jansen, University of Leiden, in Canadian Journal of African Studies"Conrad's translation seems to me much clearer and more accessible than [previous] renderings. In addition, Conrad's notes are exceedingly useful. His maps, and his notes on the maps, are terrific. "The Sunjata epic speaks to the founding of the great empire of Mali. Conrad’s Introduction situates the epic in the world of the Mande, as a people, culture, and group of languages; it also provides the context for the epic, and explains the meaning of a ‘bard,’ origin mythologies, linkage with a founding ancestor, as well as events and their cosmic interpretations. "[In this translation we can hear] a powerful griot voice, chanting about histories, singing about heroes and genealogies, and reciting poetry on memories, all accomplished in ways to give us an expansive entry into the past of a world that forcefully speaks to the present, inviting wonder and imagination about the possibilities for a greater future." —Toyin Falola, Jacob & Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities and University Distinguished Teaching Professor of History, The University of Texas at Austin

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Book SynopsisThe Political Thought of African Independence: An Anthology of Sources brilliantly frames the debates that captivated the world as former European colonies in Africa began their transition to sovereign rule in the 1950s and ’60s. Its wealth of key documents are enhanced by Gregory Smulewicz-Zucker's General Introduction, part introductions, headnotes, and annotations, providing needed contextual information and supports for readers.Trade Review"A great accomplishment. Not only does Smulewicz-Zucker's anthology bring together a diverse array of sources (54 in total), it also weaves together what are more or less canonical sources in twentieth-century African political thought with many unexpected, yet equally rich and illuminating, items. Smulewicz-Zucker has chosen material from all of the continent’s major regions, including . . . documents from more than two-dozen different countries, international and regional organizations, and conferences. Moreover, he has organized the material in a way that creates an engaging and powerful narrative articulating the complicated history of African independence. This outstanding collection will surely find its way into undergraduate courses in fields as diverse as African history, international relations, comparative politics, and even political theory." —Jeffrey Ahlman, Smith College, author of Living with Nkrumahism: Nation, State, and Pan-Africanism in Ghana (Ohio University Press, 2017)"These African voices will expose readers to the events and ideas that gave shape to African political thought—from aspirations for power within the Anglican church and control over defining local and national cultures, to asserting national identities and conceptions of regional and continental unity. Taken together, they open a window onto the myriad ideas of, and struggles for, independence in Africa." —Benjamin Talton, Temple University"Smulewicz-Zucker’s Political Thought of African Independence is an excellent collection. I'm not only impressed by the selection of texts but also moved by a number of the pieces included in the book." —Bill Fletcher Jr., former president of TransAfrica Forum"Smulewicz-Zucker's anthology of primary sources pertinent to the political imagination of, and ideologies informing, African independence is . . . a very welcome resource for teachers and researchers everywhere. The collection is vast and quite comprehensive, comprising four parts, each with a short introductory essay. The assemblage of such a diverse range of texts, traversing the length and breadth of the continent, is an effective way to challenge the teleology of the nation-state. The mini-introductions offer teachers numerous avenues for the exploration of the materials in the classroom setting, and for the development of lines of questioning for student writing assignments. By broadening the conversation beyond the political realm to incorporate religious, social, cultural, and (to a far lesser extent) gendered aspirations of autonomy and agency, Smulewicz-Zucker has provided a highly teachable and engaging pedagogical product." —Benjamin N. Lawrence, University of Arizona, in African Studies Review Table of ContentsContents: IntroductionPart One: Early Visions of Independence Introduction 1. Samuel Crowther – Letter to the Secretaries of the Church Missionary Society, 1841 2. James Africanus Horton – Advice to the Rising Generation in West Africa, 1868 3. The Fante Confederation Constitution, 1871 4. Edward Blyden – The Origin and Purpose of Colonization, 1881 5. W.E.B. Du Bois – To the Nations of the World, 1900 6. Mojola Agbebi – The West African Problem, 1911 7. J.E. Casely Hayford – Race Emancipation – Particular Considerations: African Nationality, 1911 8. Marcus Garvey – If You Believe the Negro Has a Soul, 1921 Part Two: Paths to Independence Introduction 9. The Fifth Pan-African Congress – Resolutions, 1945 10. Jomo Kenyatta – Speech at the Kenya African Union, 1952 11. George Padmore – Communism and Black Nationalism, 1956 12. Félix Houphouet-Boigny – French Africa and the French Union, 1957 13. Charles de Gaulle – The Franco-African Community, 1958 14. The All-African People’s Conference – Resolution on Imperialism and Colonialism, 1958 15. Bibi Titi Mohammed – “Travel for TANU”: Interview, 1958 16. Sekou Touré - The Political Leader Considered as the Representative of a Culture, 1959 17. Gamal Abdel Nasser – The Philosophy of the Revolution, 1959 18. Harold Macmillan – Wind of Change, 1960 19. Henrik Verwoerd – Response to Macmillan 20. Patrice Lumumba – Two Speeches, 1960 21. The United Nations – Declaration on Granting Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, 1960 22. K.A. Busia – The Challenge of Nationalism, 1962 Part Three: Independence Struggles Introduction 23. Karari Njama – Reflections on the Mau Mau Oath, 1952 24. Albert Luthuli – The Road to Freedom is Via the Cross, 1952 25. The Algerian National Liberation Front – Proclamation of the FLN, 1954 26. The Federation of South African Women – The Women’s Charter, 1954 27. The South African Congress of the People – The Freedom Charter, 1955 28. The People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola, 1956 29. Ndabaningi Sithole – White Supremacy and African Nationalism, 1959 30. Nelson Mandela – I am Prepared to Die, 1964 31. Ian Smith – Announcement of Unilateral Declaration of Independence, 1965 32. Harold Wilson – Position of the British Government on the Unilateral Declaration of Independence by Rhodesia, 1965 33. Amilcar Cabral – The Weapon of Theory, 1966 34. Andimba Toivo ya Toivo - Freedom for Namibia, 1968 35. Emeka Ojukwu – The Ahiara Declaration, 1969 36. Eduardo Mondlane – The Struggle for Independence in Mozambique, 1969 Part Four: Legitimating Independence Introduction 37. Kwame Nkrumah – I Speak of Freedom, 1961 38. Tom Mboya – Tensions in African Development, 1961 39. Kabaka Mutesa II – Decision to Co-operate with Uganda, 1961 40. Sir Ahmadu Bello – Regional Government, 1962 41. Julius Nyerere – Ujamaa: The Basis of African Socialism, 1962 42. Organization of African Unity – Founding Charter, 1963 43. Haile Selassie I – A Call to African Leaders, 1963 44. Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa – Addis Ababa, 1963 45. Nnamdi Azikiwe – Tribalism: A Pragmatic Instrument for National Unity, 1964 46. Jomo Kenyatta – A One Party System, 1964 47. Léopold Sédar Senghor – African Socialist Humanism, 1964 48. Kwame Nkrumah – Consciencism, 1964 49. Kanyama Chiume and Ex-Malawian Ministers – Appeal to the U.N. and O.A.U. 50. J.B. Danquah – Letter from Prison to Kwame Nkrumah, 1964 51. Vera Chirwa – Origins of the Cabinet Crisis, 1964 52. Obafemi Awolowo – Thoughts on Nigerian Constitution, 1966 53. Kenneth Kaunda – African Development and Foreign Aid, 1966 54. The Tanganyika African National Union – The Arusha Declaration: On the Policy of Self-Reliance in Tanzania, 1967

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Book Synopsis"Northrup's highly accessible book breaks through the most common barriers that readers encounter in studying African history. Each chapter takes on a common myth about Africa and explains both the sources of the myth and the research that debunks it. These provocative chapters will promote lively discussions among readers while deepening their understanding of African and world history. The book is strengthened by its incorporation of actors and issues representing the African diaspora and African Americans in particular." —Rebecca Shumway, College of CharlestonTrade Review"I never imagined that my Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest, first published in 2003, would prove to be so enduring a format for helping students of all kinds to rethink key moments in human history. It is therefore a great honor to see that the book has now inspired Hackett Publishing Company's "Myths of History" series, expertly and effectively edited by Alfred J. Andrea and Andrew Holt." —Matthew Restall, Pennsylvania State University"Seven Myths of Africa in World History, the latest of David Northrup's incisive and profound investigations of Africa's history, is a great intellectual menu in its taste and variety. Based essentially on a critique of earlier scholarship and a fresh reading of the expanding corpus of primary data on Africa's variegated and complex history, Northrup provides an excellent critique of earlier writings on the cultural, economic, social, political, and religious landscapes of Africa as influenced by both internal and external forces of change and continuity. With tremendous scholarly erudition and insight, Northrup challenges, and proffers explanations to, many prevailing assumptions, falsehoods and distortions that have been produced and circulated by ignorance and prejudices over a long period of time. No doubt, both the unyielding expert and the man with general education will read this magnificent book with great profit and delight." —David Lishilinimle Imbua, University of Calabar"A superb introduction to major themes in African history, lively and without jargon, and pitched at the right level for a general or student readership. At the same time, it does not oversimplify. Unlike many other introductions to African history, the text does not overwhelm with details, but focuses on arguments and issues with which readers can engage. Northrup's approach is balanced. Even as it engages with some politically sensitive topics, it does so in a careful and fair fashion: A thoughtful book, drawing on and reflecting the best traditions of Africanist scholarship. Most of all, it was a pleasure to read." —David Gordon, Bowdoin CollegeTable of ContentsContents: Series Editors' Foreword Editor’s Preface Introduction No History in Africa? Can the Oldest Humans Have the Shortest History? How Special Can Ethiopia Be? Encounters with Non-Africans: Good, Bad, or Complicated? The Atlantic Slave Trade: Stolen Bodies, Stolen Identities? Merrie Olde Africa: Change, Continuity, and Identity Is Islam More Authentically African than Christianity? The Mythical Present: Africa Rising? Africa Failing? Epilogue Suggested Readings

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Book Synopsis"King Leopold of Belgium's exploits up the Congo River in the 1880s were central to the European partitioning of the African continent. The Congo Free State, Leopold's private colony, was a unique political construct that opened the door to the savage exploitation of the Congo's natural and human resources by international corporations. The resulting 'red rubber' scandal—which laid bare a fundamental contradiction between the European propagation of free labor and 'civilization' and colonial governments' acceptance of violence and coercion for productivity's sake—haunted all imperial powers in Africa. Featuring a clever introduction and judicious collection of documents, Michael Rutz's book neatly captures the drama of one king's quest to build an empire in Central Africa—a quest that began in the name of anti-slavery and free trade and ended in the brutal exploitation of human lives. This volume is an excellent starting point for anyone interested in the history of colonial rule in Africa." —Jelmer Vos, University of GlasgowTrade Review"Rutz has assembled an excellent collection of excerpts from contemporary sources for the history of King Leopold of Belgium's Congo Free State. The collection includes key documents and the familiar voices of the Free State's European and American critics, as well as much less well-known African voices. These sources will be very useful to understanding the history of one of the most egregious and notorious regimes in colonial Africa." —David Northrup, Emeritus, Boston College

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Book SynopsisThe vertiginous decline in political leadership from Nelson Mandela to Jacob Zuma has engulfed South Africa in a serious crisis over the past `lost decade'. Based on his personal experience of the key protagonists, former British ambassador to South Africa Lord Renwick introduces the reader to an astonishing array of rogues and villains, ministers taken captive, crimebusters who are criminals, investigators who don't investigate, prosecutors who don't prosecute, red berets, black hearts and compulsive liars, alongside some heroes and an authentic heroine. The book reads like a crime novel as Renwick explores the ingenuity, audacity and impunity with which the South African state has been looted on an unimaginable scale, and how Bell Pottinger, KPMG, McKinsey and others became complicit in this process. But, in the end, this is an uplifting story, as a remarkable press, judiciary and civil society combined to `save South Africa' and its constitution under serious threat. Now, as Cyril Ramaphosa takes the reins, How to Steal a Country looks ahead to a brighter future, though Ramaphosa will find that his greatest challenges are within his own party.

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Book SynopsisThe documentary My heart of Darkness (Sweden 2011) tells the story of a South-African paratrooper returning to Angola: Facing former enemies, he tries to regain mental health and reconciliation. The film marks the stepping-stone for this volume: The contributions examine different facets like the memory-discourse, genre aspects, the use of music, and authentification processes. Several texts discuss these topics in a more general way including other films. Furthermore, some articles are devoted to the historical context, i.e. the Angolan Civil War and the aftermath of this conflict in the cultural sphere.

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Book SynopsisA new take on Afrofuturism, this book gathers together a range of contemporary voices who, carrying legacies of 500 years of contact between Africa, Europe, and the Americas, reach towards the stars and unknown planets, galaxies, and ways of being. Writing from queer and feminist perspectives and circumnavigating continents, they recalibrate definitions of Afrofuturism. The editors and contributors of this exciting volume thus reflect upon the re-emergence of Black visions of political and cultural futures, proposing practices, identities, and collectivities. With contributions from AfroFuturist Affair, John Akomfrah, Jamika Ajalon, Stefanie Alisch, Jim Chuchu, Grisha Coleman, Thomas F. DeFrantz, Abigail DeVille, M. Asli Dukan with Wildseeds, Kodwo Eshun, Anna Everett, Raimi Gbadamosi, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Milumbe Haimbe, Ayesha Hameed, Kiluanji Kia Henda, Kara Keeling, Carla J. Maier, Tobias Nagl, Tavia Nyongo, Rasheedah Phillips, Daniel Kojo Schrade, Nadine Siegert, Robyn Smith, Greg Tate and Frohawk Two Feathers.

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Book SynopsisWhether and to what extent African states and societies have been able to break away from colonial impact is a still contentious issue. Harald Barre considers newspapers and academic activism in Tanzania as forums in which the project of an independent African nation was shaped through heated debates. Examining the changing discourses on race and gender in the 1960s and 1970s, he reveals that equating difference with inequality in the national narrative was fiercely contested. Pervasive images rooted in colonialism were thus challenged and in some cases fundamentally transformed by journalists, students, (inter)national scholars, (inter)national events and the promise of an egalitarian socialist state.

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