African history Books

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Book SynopsisFrom the world of Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls comes a historical novel based on the life of Dr. Wangari Maathai, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist and environmentalist from Kenya.Wangari lives in the lush, green, land of rural Kenya where the soil is perfect for planting, the trees tower into the sky, and the streams are full of mysterious creatures. All day, she plays beneath her favorite fig tree, and at night she gathers around the fire with her family to listen to her mother's stories.Then Wangari grows up and goes away to school, and things start changing at home. Farmers chop down the trees. Landslides bury the stream. The soil becomes overworked and dry, and nothing will grow. People go hungry. After all her studies, Dr. Wangari Maathai realizes there is a simple solution to these problems: plant a forest full of trees.Dr. Wangari Maathai Plants a Forest is the story of environmentalist and activist Dr. Wangari Maathai, who became the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. It's also a story about the importance of making your voice heard, and using that voice to protect the natural world.This historical fiction chapter book includes additional text on Dr. Wangari Maathai's lasting legacy, as well as educational activities designed to encourage caring for the planet and believing in the power of one.About the Rebel Girls Chapter Book SeriesMeet extraordinary real-life heroines in the Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls chapter book series! Introducing stories based on the lives of extraordinary women in global history, each stunningly designed chapter book features beautiful illustrations from a female artist as well as bonus activities in the backmatter to encourage kids to explore the various fields in which each of these women thrived. The perfect gift to inspire any young reader!

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Book SynopsisThe battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879 was one of the most dramatic episodes in military history. In the morning, 20,000 Zulus overwhelmed the British invading force in one of the greatest disasters ever to befall a British army. Later the same day, a Zulu force of around 3,000 warriors turned their attention to a small outpost at Rorke's Drift defended by around 150 British and Imperial troops. The British victory that ensued -against remarkable odds -would go down as one of the most heroic actions of all time. In this thrilling blow-by-blow account, Chris Peers draws on first-hand testimonies from both sides to piece together the course of the battles as they unfolded. Along the way, he exposes many of the Victorian myths to reveal great acts of bravery as well as cases of cowardice and incompetence. A brief analysis of the aftermath of the battle and notes on the later careers of the key participants completes this gripping expos of this legendary encounter.

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisAn important illustrated history of the relationship between Cambridge and the Black Atlantic. Between 1400 and 1900, European powers, not least Britain, colonised the Americas and transported over 12.5 million people from sub-Saharan Africa as slaves. The contested space, formed by the interactions of multiple people and cultures, both Black and white, we now call the Black Atlantic. Cambridge and Cambridgeshire played a key role in this international narrative – a story of commerce, profit and colonialism, of opinion-forming, and of struggle. Through the lens of historic artworks, artefacts and natural history specimens, this book and the exhibition it accompanies analyse the rise and growth of enslavement, the profits made by Dutch and British traders and plantation-owners, the power of images, the knowledge produced by enslaved people, histories of resistance movements and the consequences of these events today. Works by contemporary makers challenge long-held assumptions, address erasures, and create alternative narratives of repair, freedom and justice.Trade ReviewA fascinating and extremely accessible work that is shocking, inspiring and deeply moving. * All About History *Table of ContentsContributor biographies Acknowledgements Foreword by Luke Syson Introduction Section 1: Before Atlantic Enslavement 1. Africa: Akan Region 2. Indigenous Islands in the Caribbean Sea 3. Europe: Slavery Before Racism; Blackness Before Slavery Section 2: Cambridge Wealth from Atlantic Enslavement 1. Royal Patronage 2. Making Money: Dutch Connections 3. Technology for the Transatlantic Trade 4. Warfare Between the British, Dutch and Spanish Empires Section 3: Fashion, Consumption and Racism 1. Blackness in European Art 2. Enslavement and Fashion Section 4: Plantations: Production and Resistance 1. Production, Knowledge Generation and Exploitation 2. Plantation Violence 3. Remembering Further Reading Image credits Index

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Book SynopsisA distinguished scholar's magnum opus and the first full account of Malawi's colonial history. This is the first comprehensive history of Malawi during the colonial period. Using a wide range of primary and secondary sources, John McCracken places the history of Malawi within the context of its pre-colonial past. The book examines the way in which British people, starting with David Livingstone, followed by the pioneer Scottish Presbyterian missionaries and including soldiers, speculators, colonial officials and politicians, played an influential part in shaping Malawi. But even more important is the story of how Malawian people responded to the intrusion of colonialism and imperialism and the role they played in the dissolution of the colonial state. There is muchhere on resistance to colonial occupation, including religious-inspired revolt, on the shaping of the colonial economy, on the influence of Christian missions and on the growth of a powerful popular nationalism that contained within it the seeds of a new authoritarianism. But space is also given to less mainstream activities: the creation of dance societies, the eruption of witchcraft eradication movements and the emergence of football as a popular national sport. In particular, the book seeks to demonstrate the interrelationship between environmental and economic change and the impact these forces had on a poverty-stricken yet resilient Malawian peasantry. John McCracken is Honorary Senior Research Fellow, Stirling University. He has taught at University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, University College of Dar es Salaam and was Professor and Head of the Department of History at Chancellor College, University of Malawi from 1980-83 and returned as Visiting Professor in 2009. John McCracken was awarded ASAUK's Distinguished Africanist Award in 2008.Trade ReviewThis is a book which should be read by anyone interested in the history of Africa. McCracken has produced a text which will shape research on Malawi for years to come. * LUCAS *A highly valuable contribution to historical writing on Malawi and provides a useful synthesis of previously published work. ... [It] will inspire a new generation of historians to deepen our understanding of these issues and many more that remain under-researched in the country's fascinating but often neglected history. * AFRICAN AFFAIRS *A truly monumental achievement, and the fruit of a lifetime's work at the forefront of the study of Malawi. * JOURNAL OF SOUTHERN AFRICAN STUDIES *A masterful survey of Malawi's modern past [which] is bound to become the go-to text for students and scholars ... and must surely become a standard reference for those interested in Malawi's modern history, politics and economics. * AFRICA *[An] awe-inspiring book...McCracken has now delivered his long-awaited magnum opus. ... A towering scholarly achievement [that] will surely stand the test of time for generations to come. * IJAHS *[A] magisterial account [and] a landmark event in the country's historiography. [.] It is a book so distinguished by the depth and quality of its analysis that it will take its place in the front rank of the literature addressing the colonial period in Africa. [.] Scholars, students and all interested readers will be grateful to have such a comprehensive, gripping and dependable account. * THE SOCIETY OF MALAWI JOURNAL *A good solid read. * CHARTIST *This major history [.] replaces all previous histories of the country [and] will stand as a foundation to all future research. Its breadth of treatment is as impressive as its immense range of primary and secondary sources. * ROUND TABLE *Table of ContentsThe Land and the People Commerce, Christianity and Colonial Conquest The Making of the Colonial Economy, 1891-1915 Religion, Culture and Society The Chilembwe Rising Malawi and the First World War Planters, Peasants and Migrants: the Interwar Years The Great Depression and its Aftermath Contours of Colonialism The Age of Development The Urban Experience Peasants and Politicians, 1943-1953 The Liberation Struggle, 1953-1959 The Making of Malawi, 1959-1963 Prelude to Independence: Unity and Diversity Revolt and Realignment, 1964-1966

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Book SynopsisLike its African neighbours, Eritrea attained colonial statehood under a European power, in this case Italy. Yet, during decolonisation, its people were singularly excluded from the right to self- determination, for external reasons: superpower rivalry over the country's strategic position on the Red Sea; a mistaken notion of irreconcilable sectarian differences within Eritrea's population, invoked in order to brand it a society unfit for statehood; and Ethiopia's imperial claim, based on mythical historical connections. The Ethiopian call for Eritrea's return, supported by the UK and the US, sealed its fate at the international level. First, in the early 1950s, the UN General Assembly federated Eritrea as an autonomous unit under Ethiopian sovereignty; a decade later, Addis Ababa annexed it as a provincein neither case was the population consulted, sparking a liberation war.This vital book traces the genesis of the Eritrean independence struggle through hitherto unexplored local sources, both written and oral, analysed against the rather scanty existing literature on this period. Alemseged Tesfai refocuses the narrative on the actions, reactions and expectations of a relatively small nation, in both size and population, as it set out to right an international wrong, imposed by the Great Powers of the day.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"The 2018 Medieval Book of the Year"

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Book SynopsisA riveting study of Africa's demographics – its youth and growth – and what they mean for the continent, today and into the future. 'Essential reading' Guardian 'Intensely researched – and very important!' The Week 'The research in Youthquake is meticulous' Tim Marshall, Reaction 'Attempts to end the hysteria and ignorance surrounding demographic trends' New Statesman 'Meticulously researched, nuanced and brilliant' Mary Harper Africa's population growth in the last 50 years has been unprecedented. By mid-century, the continent will make up a quarter of the global population, compared to one-tenth in 1980. Africa's youth is the most striking aspect of its demography. As the rest of the world ages, almost 60 per cent of Africa's population is younger than 25 years old. This 'youthquake' will have immense consequences for the social, economic and political reality in Africa. Edward Paice presents a detailed, nuanced analysis of the varied demography of Africa. He rejects the fanciful over-optimism of some commentators and doom-laden prophecies of others, while scrutinising received wisdom, and carefully considering the ramifications of the youthquake for Africa and the world.Trade ReviewEssential reading for anyone who wants to understand Africa and its place in the world * Guardian *Paice's attempt to end the hysteria and ignorance surrounding demographic trends, and to remind us that how we respond to them is above all a political question, will increase understanding of the possibilities and challenges facing the world * New Statesman *The research in Youthquake is meticulous – there are more than 70 graphs and hundreds of facts -- Tim Marshall, ReactionAn in-depth look at Africa's population data, while calling for a sense of humility in discussions around this topic * Irish Times *One of the great qualities of this fascinating book is even-handedness... Very sober, very fact-based, non-ideological – cool, calm and collected -- Mark Steyn, GB NewsThe youth bulge heading Africa's way is real, and in the next 30 years it will throw up economic, social and political problems for African states the like of which the world has never before witnessed. This demographic surge is neither a catastrophe nor a boon, but it is a wicked problem: one for which there is no easy or satisfactory solution. In this utterly compelling and important book, Edward Paice disentangles the facts from the fictions, the truths from the falsehoods, and tells us why Africa's future will shape the futures of us all. This is a book none of us should ignore -- David M. Anderson, Professor of African History, University of WarwickThis meticulously researched, nuanced and brilliant book takes apart simplistic, hysterical myths about Africa's population growth and what it means for the continent and the rest of the world. It presents a powerful case for Africa to be viewed as central, not peripheral, to the future, making up a quarter of the world's population by 2050 and providing about one-third of its working-age population -- Mary Harper, Africa Editor, BBC World Service NewsIf there is one book to choose that dissects the demography of the countries of sub-Saharan Africa, then this is it. Edward Paice has achieved the feat of assembling the data and examining the trends by country to show the possibilities and challenges that come with fertility trends moving at different speeds. Required reading for those interested in Africa's development -- Kwame Owino, CEO, The Institute of Economic Affairs (Kenya)I greatly admired the author's command of Africa's demography and particularly appreciated his demolition of the demographic dividend -- John Cleland, former Professor of Medical Demography at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Fellow of the British AcademyPaice's text is heavy on statistics, but the goulash of arithmetic is easy to digest, as well as spiced with plenty of numerical eye-poppers * Spectator *Intensely researched – and very important! * The Week *Paice's excellent book [...] convincingly makes the point that African demography is a matter of truly universal importance -- Adam Tooze, Director of the European Institute at Columbia UniversityPaice's book is a monument of industry, a mine of information and invaluable reading for anyone who wants to understand the scale and implications of Africa's demographic growth -- Nick Westcott, African Affairs

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Book SynopsisThis is the true story of the greatest special forces' operation of the 20th Century and the first shot in the West's long war against international terrorism. It is a tale of human drama and unbearable tension in which courage, comradeship, fanaticism, incompetence and luck all play their part.Trade ReviewThis is a minute-by-minute narrative of that week by a scrupulous and thorough historian, who has written what will most likely be the definitive work on the subject and produced a tense and riveting account of what has come to be known as the Entebbe raid. By means of extraordinarily deep research, David essentially lets the characters speak for themselves...This is the achievement of a masterly, first-rate historian. * The New York Times Book Review *It's a brilliantly orchestrated book, wonderfully rich in detail, but at the same time roaring along at a heart-thumping pace... I embarked on this book as someone not particularly interested in the Middle East, or in adventure tales of soldiers in action; I finished it in a state of high tension, buzzing through the pages in the need to know what happened next. -- Craig Brown * Mail on Sunday *Long fuse. Slow burn. Big bang. A Krakatoa of a tale. * Damien Lewis, author of Operation Certain Death *Combining exceptional research with gripping storytelling, Saul David's Operation Thunderbolt is an unputdownable account of perhaps the most extraordinary Special Forces mission in history. I loved it. * Rowland White, author of 'Vulcan 607' *Totally thrilling, totally poignant. Bringing the greatest special forces operation of modern times blazingly to life, David's book, full of new revelations, written with the excitement of an action-movie, the authority of a historian, is great drama, superb storytelling - and yet tells us much about the Middle East today. * Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Jerusalem *A brilliant, breathless account that reads like the plot of an action movie. * Sunday Telegraph *Better than fiction can ever hope to be and true to Saul David's characteristically authentic style, this breathtakingly tense and incredibly moving account of history's most audacious Special Forces operation is one of the best true stories I've ever read. Gritty, visceral and edge-of-the-seat dramatic, Operation Thunderbolt ticks all the boxes and is destined to be one of the military history classics of the decade. - Major Chris Hunter, author of Broadcaster and Former Special Forces Bomb Disposal Operator. * Major Chris Hunter, author of Eight Lives Down *Gripping... will introduce a whole new generation of readers to an extraordinary story... The climax of the rescue itself is brilliantly told; nearly 40 years on, you still heave a sigh of relief when the last when the last Hercules lifts off from the Entebbe runway and lumbers off into the night and a new daw for the hostages - and for Israel. * Jewish Chronicle *For the first time in my reading life I felt physically thrilled by a book... Wonderful. -- Jonathan Mirsky * Literary Review *Gripping... As the hours tick down to the threatened bloody denouement, tension mounts and the atmosphere thickens... A page-turner, with its single clear mission, cast of distinct personalities and very filmic scenes. * The Spectator *Told with the style and pace of TV thrillers such as 24. * The Times *A meticulously researched, skilfully constructed, carefully balanced and absorbing book. * The Observer *A ripping read and a meticulously researched work of history. * Evening Standard *Combines phenomenal research with the paciness of a thriller. * Economist Intelligent Life *Well-researched and highly readable. * Times Literary Supplement *

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Book SynopsisA pathbreaking history of modern Eritrea under postwar international administration, shedding light on issues that rock the Horn of Africa to this day.

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Book SynopsisThe Last Train to Zona Verde is Paul Theroux''s compelling account of his final African journey.Heading north from Cape Town, through South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Angola, Paul Theroux makes a final journey along Africa''s western edge. The end of the line is the Congo but Theroux discovers that his trip''s pleasures are tempered by a growing sense that the Africa which so long ago helped form him has vanished, along with the hopes of many of its people. Yet after 2,500 miles Theroux finds that though this will be his ultimate African adventure there are still surprises to be found by the traveller prepared to step off the beaten track.''A melancholic, farewell journey . . . Theroux does all this inimitably, and more, getting better the more detours he takes'' Evening Standard''Hard to put down, brutal honesty. Theroux proves himself a sharp observer of human foibles and a master of pithy description. The book he has crafted out of

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Book SynopsisA new analysis of the conflict considered a precursor to the World Wars and the originator of South African apartheid.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"With a mixture of sober social science analysis and engaging personal travelogue, Lieberman defends the country’s record, particularly its ability to sustain for several decades a dynamic democracy with free and fair elections, a vibrant press, and an independent judiciary. He also ably documents South Africa’s achievements in improving education, housing, and public health, showing that, over the last 25 years, the country has mostly matched or surpassed the accomplishments of comparable upper-middle-income countries. . . . He writes lucidly about the economic and political shortcomings on which other accounts focus, but he makes an eloquent case for the remarkable progress South Africa has made in the wake of apartheid’s brutal legacy."---Nicolas van de Walle, Foreign Affairs"Lieberman’s analysis evaluates South Africa as a country, not as a miracle. Rather than being the bearer of the promise of democracy, the world can evaluate South Africa, Lieberman says, on its record of government performance, which has much to laud. . . . Important."---Carolyn Holmes, Washington Post

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Book SynopsisThoughtful and challenging, this book argues for a reassessment of the role historically played by Islam in Africa, and offers new hope for in creased mutual understanding between African people of different faiths. Drawing on a wealth of sources, from the colonial period to the most up-to-date scholarship, the author challenges the widely held perception th at, while Christianity oppressed and subjugated the African people, Islam fitted comfortably into the indigenous landscape. Instead, this penetrating account reveals Muslim settlers to be as guilty of enforcing slavery and conversion as those of their more maligned sister tradition. Only with an acknowledgement of the true roles of both faiths in African history, suggests Azumah, can the people of both traditions move themselves and their continent towards a new future of tolerance and self-awareness.Table of Contents1. A glance at Post-Colonial Assessment of the Western-Christian and Arab-Islamic Legacies in Tropical Africa; Definition of the Problem; A Critique of Prevailing Approaches and Perceptions; Methodology, Outline and Sources. 2. Indigenous Africa as a Cultivating Ground for Arab-Islam; Introduction; The Introduction of Islam to Tropical Africa; The Indigenous African Environment and Conversion to Islam; Conclusion. 3. Muslim Jihad and Black Africa; Introduction; Sunni Muslim Doctrine of JihadJihad - Theories and Campaigns in Africa; Interpreting the Jihad Tradition in Africa; Evaluating the Jihadists' Shari`a Rule; Conclusion. 4. Muslim Slavery and Black Africa; Introduction Slavery in Muslim Africa - Indigenous or Islamic Stimuli?; Classical Muslim Ideology of Enslavement; Muslim Slavery and the Slave Trade - The Arab-Oriental; Dimension; Muslim Slavery and the Slave Trade - The African Dimension; The Various Roles of Slaves in Muslim Lands; The Condition of Slaves in Muslim Lands - Theory versus Practice; Encountering the Encounters - Arab-Islamand Black African Experience; Introduction; Truth, Dialogue and Confessional Loyalty; The Need to Rethink Arab-Islam in Light of the African; Experience; The Arab Factor in Sunni Islamic Orthodoxy.

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Book SynopsisA history of tomb-raiders in Egypt since antiquity.

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Book SynopsisAmílcar Cabral’s charismatic and visionary leadership, his pan-Africanist solidarity and internationalist commitment to “every just cause in the world,” remain relevant to contemporary struggles for emancipation and self-determination. This concise biography is an ideal introduction to his life and legacy.Trade ReviewThe 209-page book is concise and accessible … dense with facts about Cabral and about struggles for independence from Portugal more broadly. Readers will learn of the movement in Guinea-Bissau and Cabo Verde and about the broader Pan-African revolution to end colonialism. Mendy wrote Amílcar Cabral because he was inspired by him. Reading, I was also inspired, in many different ways. * Washington Post *“An indispensable book for scholars and students of African history, politics, and military studies.” * Community of Gambianist Scholars *“Mendy brilliantly clarifies Cabral and his accomplishments; the historical context in which he lived; his academic and political education in Portugal; and his outstanding work as an engaged intellectual and a revolutionary leader. Readers already familiar with Cabral will find new information and insights, while Mendy’s lucid and concise writing also makes this perfect for nonspecialist audiences.”“An essential work for those interested in the biographical trajectory of Cabral and his fascinating journey as a theoretician of the nationalist struggles in Guinea-Bissau, Cabo Verde, and Africa as a whole.” * H-Net Reviews *

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Book SynopsisA vibrant meditation and poetic call for an African utopian philosophy of self-reinvention for the twenty-first century In the recent aftermath of colonialism, civil wars, and the AIDS crisis, a new day finally seems to be shining on the African continent. Africa has once again become a site of creative potential and a vibrant center of economic growth and production. No longer stigmatized by stereotypes or encumbered by the traumas of the past—yet unsure of the future—Africa has other options than simply to follow paths already carved out by the global economy. Instead, the philosopher Felwine Sarr urges the continent to set out on its own renewal and self-discovery—an active utopia that requires a deep historical reflection on the continent’s vast mythological universe and ancient traditions, nourishes a cultural reinvention, and embraces green technologies for tackling climate change and demographic challenges.Through a reflection on contemporary African writers, artists, intellectuals, and musicians, Sarr elaborates Africa’s unique philosophies and notions of communal value and economy deeply rooted in its ancient traditions and landscape—concepts such as ubuntu, the life force in Dogon culture; the Rwandan imihigo; and the Senegalese teranga. Sarr takes the reader on a philosophical journey that is as much inward as outward, demanding an elevation of the collective consciousness.Along the way, one sees the contours of an africanity, a contemporary Africa united as a continent through the creolization of its cultural traditions. This is Felwine Sarr’s Afrotopia.

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Book SynopsisA powerful and intensely human insight into the civil war in Zimbabwe, focusing on a white farmer and his maid who find themselves on opposing sides.One bright morning Nigel Hough, one of the few remaining white farmers in Mugabe's Zimbabwe, received the news he was dreading a crowd were at the gate demanding he surrender his home and land. To his horror, his family''s much-loved nanny Aqui was at the head of the violent mob that then stole his homestead and imprisoned him in an outhouseBy tracing the intertwined lives of Nigel and Aqui rich and poor, white and black, master and maid through intimate and moving interviews, Christina Lamb captures not just the source of a terrible conflict, but also her own conviction that there is still hope for one of Africa's most beautiful countries.Trade Review‘Lamb is a careful observer, and her anguished refrain is the terrible schizophrenia of people who fiercely love their land but do nothing to save it…the strength is in the storytelling…it is a good piece of reportage…her book deserves to be read.' Daily Telegraph ‘A perceptive account of Zimbabwean history since the colonial days.’ Times Literary Supplement 'Riveting…Lamb's book tells a disaster story on a massive scale.' Daily Mail 'Compelling…Lamb has a remarkable pair of stories to tell, and does so extremely well.' The Spectator

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“Wandering in Strange Lands is in many ways a quintessentially American story. . . Jerkins makes plain that denying space for Black identities in history is itself a legacy as American as its original sins of racism and enslavement. By exploring the truth of that past with such integrity, this memoir enriches our future." — New York Times Book Review "Jerkins weaves a vivid and painful backstory of Black people forced into enslavement in the American South. . .The book is filled with poignant examples from across multiple centuries, including those retold in classrooms and those relegated to forgotten parts of our country's consciousness. . .It's when Jerkins sews her familial threads with those poignant historical facts from deep in the archives of America that the book is most impactful. Equally heartbreaking and reaffirming are the trials and tribulations too many Black people in the United States have faced and somehow conquered, coming out more resilient on the other side." — USA Today "Wandering in Strange Lands intertwines segments of past and present travel, as a reminder that the past is present in the U.S." — O, the Oprah Magazine "The mass migration of 6 million Black Americans from the rural South to the North, West, and Midwest is given a deeply personal framing by writer Morgan Jerkins as she attempts to better understand her ancestors’ treacherous journey across America." — Vogue "Traveling throughout the country, [Jerkins] explores the path her family took as well as her cultural identity as a black woman. Her desire to understand both her personal and cultural origins will inspire you to do the same." — Elle "Morgan Jerkins has always been curious about her family tree and the roots of Black Americans. In 'Wandering in Strange Lands,' she traces her ancestry back 300 years and shares what she learned about the Great Migration, displacement, and disenfranchisement. The result is an eye-opening, well-researched portrait of Black life in America after slavery." — Hello Giggles "Wandering in Strange Lands is a timely and riveting story about the Black American experience as told by a writer seeking to reclaim her roots by retracing her family's journey." — PopSugar "Morgan Jerkins, author of the best-selling and acclaimed This Will Be My Undoing, sets out to discover her family’s roots in Wandering in Strange Lands. In doing so she paints a larger portrait of African American displacement and disenfranchisement during the Great Migration and its impact on her own life. . . Jerkins is a wonderfully articulate memoirist and critic as she shares her own quest to understand the hard truths and actions of her ancestors. . .Wandering in Strange Lands is revelatory, shocking, and affirming." — Al Woodworth, Amazon Book Review "In Wandering in Strange Lands, Jerkins mixes reportage with personal reflection, taking readers through Southern spaces not often given visibility by those inhabiting or those who built the towns because they’ve since seen another type of colonization. Connecting her present with her past and investigating the ways DNA for Black people is not secular but spans many regions in the United States, Jerkins delves into a family history she didn’t understand but brings herself, and us, closer to." — Electric Literature "Jerkins evades [the sophomore] slump with the release of her second book, [Wandering in Strange Lands] penning beautiful prose that is engaging, thought-provoking, and authentic. Following the release of her 2018 New York Times bestseller, This Will Be My Undoing, Jerkins hits another home run and leaves her readers asking new questions about the world in which we live." — Ms. Magazine "For fans of “The 1619 Project,” The New York Times Magazine’s series that recently reexamined the legacy of slavery in the United States, this book is an interesting companion piece. For a long time, Jerkins’ family chose to look forward, not back. But what she found when she finally did retrace their steps was her true self. It had not been forgotten; it was just waiting to be discovered." — Bust Magazine “[A] forthright and informative account. . . . Jerkins’s careful research and revelatory conversations with historians, activists, and genealogists result in a disturbing yet ultimately empowering chronicle of the African-American experience. Readers will be moved by this brave and inquisitive book.” — Publishers Weekly “A thrilling, emotional, and engaging ride that almost commands the reader to turn the page, Wandering in Strange Lands is required reading, accurately widening the lens of American history.” — Booklist (starred review) "A blend of reportage and memoir, this is just one story of many of this time—and one not to miss when it comes out." — Book Riot “Driven by a need to understand her own identity, cultural critic Jerkins mounted an investigation into her family's tangled history, recounting in this candid memoir the surprising discoveries that emerged from her emotional journey. . . A revelatory exploration of the meaning of blackness.” — Kirkus Reviews

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Book SynopsisRichard Miles is Professor of Classics at the University of Sydney and a Fellow of Trinity Hall, Cambridge University. He has written widely on Punic, Roman and Vandal North Africa and has directed archaeological excavations in Carthage and Rome. He is also the author of Ancient Worlds (Allen Lane, October 2010) and the presenter and writer of the series Ancient Worlds for BBC2.Trade ReviewMr. Miles has skilfully fused the works of ancient historians such as Polybius and Livy, a wide range of modern studies and recent archaeological research to create a convincing and enthralling narrative * The Economist *Richard Miles's Carthage Must be Destroyed is a refreshing addition to the debate -- Philip Parker * Financial Times *This is a lively and compelling, chronological account of Carthage from its Phoenician foundation to its reception in Emperor Augustus's Rome -- Paul Cartledge * Literary Review *Richard Miles tells this story with tremendous élan, combining the best of modern scholarship with narrative pace and energy. It is a superb achievement, a model for all such endeavours. He is even better on the little-known background to this tale -- Peter Jones * Telegraph *The dramatic story of these events is set out in gripping detail * The Scotsman *A fine, sweeping survey of the rise and fall of an empire and a glimpse into the diversity of the ancient world ... Richard Miles is ... concerned with the wider context ... and his book is all the more valuable for that * Wall Street Journal *

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Book Synopsis''A superb book...genuinely innovative'' Jack Spence OBE, King''s College LondonOver the last half century, sub-Saharan Africa has not had one history, but many. Histories that have intertwined, converged and diverged. They have involved a continuing process of decolonization and state-building, conflict, economic problems but also progress and the perpetual interplay of structure and agency. This new view of those histories looks in particular at the relationship between territorial, economic, political and societal structures and human agency in the complex and sometimes confusing development of an independent Africa. The story starts well before the granting of independence to Ghana in 1957, but the book also looks at Africa in the closing decades of the old millennium and opening ones of the new. This is a book, too, about the history of the peoples of Africa and their struggle for economic development against the global economic straitjacket into which they were strapped by colonial rule and decolonisation. The importance of imposed or inherited structures, whether the global capitalist system, of which Africa is a subordinate part, or the artificial and often inappropriate state borders and political systems is discussed in the light of the exercise of agency by African peoples, political movements and leaders.Trade ReviewThis unusually accessible study of Africa's many histories since 1970 owes its distinctiveness to the author's career...a thoughtful, passionate account by a senior BBC journalist who spent three decades working on and in Africa. His intimacy with places and people give the book a grittiness that library research never provides. -- Richard Rathbone, Professor of African History, SOASA superb book...genuinely innovative, demonstrating a fine understanding of the role of structure and agency in the continent's 'many histories'. The argument will appeal to an audience seeking a convincing and well-researched account. -- Jack Spence, OBE, Professor of Diplomacy, King's College London

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewDavid Mwambari offers a powerful revisionary account of the memory of the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda. His book works simultaneously on two levels: it illuminates and challenges what he calls the hegemonic master narrative of the genocide memory while offering an account of the plurality of memories of multiple violence in Rwanda's history; and it models how the study of collective remembrance can take inspiration from decolonial methodologies and move beyond its Eurocentric origins. This is an important contribution to a variety of fields, including genocide studies, African studies, and memory studies. Highly recommended!"-Michael Rothberg, author of The Implicated Subject: Beyond Victims and Perpetrators.David Mwambari's nuanced study explores the lived experiences of the 1994 genocide and its commemoration, over twenty years, recentring a wide range of Rwandan voices, and examining the powerful dominant narrative of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide Against the Tutsi. Mwambari has a unique positionality as one of the few Rwandan international scholars to carry out such complex scholarly work. This is a scholarly journey which is both restorative and productive, and one in which the humanity of the author is fully engaged."-Molly Andrews, Honorary Professor of Political Psychology, University College LondonThis innovative study explores how Rwanda's master narrative about the 1994 genocide became hegemonic through a process spanning several years and involving multiple actors. Particularly noteworthy are profiles of how three Rwandan artists contributed to commemoration events-yet the celebrated musician Kizito Mihigo was punished when he dared diverge from the dominant narrative; several years later he died in police custody. Despite its extensive research, the cautious tone of Mwambari's book will likely stimulate spirited debates on a central political issue today-that of creating a hegemonic ideology in the wake of massive social violence."-Catharine Newbury, Professor of Government, Smith CollegeThis book has evolved both as a biographical excavation and intellectual inquiry into what memory and memorialization can do for societies disrupted by genocide. In focusing on memory and how remembering is the subject of ever-changing dynamics, this study advances our understanding of knowledge, of how we know and what we know. This is the reason the intellectual contribution of this book is urgent and valuable. The book reminds us that lived experiences, coded in memory, give intellectual work authenticity. In daring to write this book, and in doing it so well, David Mwambari has taken memory studies a notch higher and invited us to accept the fluidity of memory without denying its very value in society. The book is an indispensable contribution to a growing interdisciplinary field of memory studies."-Godwin R. Murunga, CODESRIA Executive SecretaryTable of ContentsForeword Preface Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1: Commemorating the Past and the Evolution of Concepts in Memory Studies Chapter 2: Rwandan Narratives and Rwandan Pasts Chapter 3: Shaping the Emergence and Evolution of the Genocide Master Narrative Chapter 4: Imprinting the Land with the Materials of Memory Chapter 5: Localizing Commemoration and Individual Responses to the Master Narrative Chapter 6: Expressing Memory after Genocide: The Art of Commemoration Chapter 7: The Media, Commemoration, and the Enforcement of the Master Narrative Conclusion: The Malleability of Memory and Reflections on the Future of Knowledge Production on Rwanda and in Memory Studies References

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Book SynopsisAn innovative examination of the forces - both destructive and dynamic - which have shaped twentieth-century South Africa. This book provides a stimulating introduction to the history of South Africa in the twentieth century. It draws on the rich and lively tradition of radical history writing on that country and, to a greater extent than previous accounts, weaves economic and cultural history into the political narrative. Apartheid and industrialization, especially mining, are central theme, as is the rise of nationalism in the Afrikaner and African communities. But the author also emphasizes the neglected significance of rural experiences and local identities in shaping political consciousness. The roles played by such key figure as Smuts, Verwoerd, de Klerk, Plaatje, and Mandela are explored, while recent historiographical trends are reflected in analyses of rural protest, white cultural politics, the vitality of black urban life, and environmental decay.The book assesses the analysis of black reactions to apartheid, the rise of the ANC. The concluding chapter brings this seminal history up-to-date, tackling the issues and events from 1994-1999 - in particular the success of Mandela and the ANC in seeing through the end of apartheid rule. It also looks at the chances of a stable future for the new-found democracy in South Africa.Trade ReviewWilliam Beinart's meticulous, lively introduction to the story of the South African people through the twentieth century is an excellent place to start. The book is at once immensely readable, informative and timely, coinciding in South Africa with one of those rare, fleeting moments when there is a shared feeling of human liberation. * New Internationalist *Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION: CONQUEST, THE STATE AND SOCIETY; PART I: A STATE WITHOUT A NATION; PART II: AFRIKANER POWER AND THE RISE OF MASS; PART III: THE NEW SOUTH AFRICA, 1994-2000

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Book Synopsis'The biggest discovery since Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon unearthed Tutankhamun in 1922' The Sunday TimesTrade ReviewThe biggest discovery since Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon unearthed Tutankhamun in 1922 * The Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisAn essential overview of great kingdoms in African history and their legacies, written by world-leading experts. From the ancient Nile Valley to the savannas of medieval West Africa, the highlands of Ethiopia and on to the forests, lakes and grasslands to the south, African civilizations have given rise to some of the world's most impressive kingdoms. Yet Africa's history is often little known beyond the devastation wrought by the slave trade and European colonial rule. In this groundbreaking new book, nine leading historians of Africa take a fresh look at these great kingdoms and empires over five thousand years of recorded history. How was kingship forged in Africa and how did it operate? Was dynastic power maintained by consent or by coercion? Did kings - and queens - display and project that power for all to see, or did they hide it away, as beneath the fringed crowns that concealed the faces of sacred Yoruba rulers? In what ways have African peoples themselves recorded, celebTrade Review'A contemporary reawakening of the rise, fall and remains of African ancient kingdoms … Illuminates the many myths and histories that make the continent magical. This book is useful in invigorating new interests in the understanding of Africa’s past and present, especially its history of creativity' - RA Magazine'An enlightening non-colonial history … One would hope the “noble savage” trope was debunked decades ago, but were any more nails required for that particular coffin, then this book provides them' - Geographical'Fascinating … Great insight into the breadth and depth of African history - in particular the history before Europeans arrived on the scene' - Popular History Books'With contributions from an array of leading historians, this is a vital work that corrects the tendency to define Africa’s past by European colonisation' - The Irish Times'There is much that is insightful, new, and useful to commend this book' - The PastTable of ContentsIntroduction: Kings, Kingship and Kingdoms in African History John Parker 1. Ancient Egypt and Nubia: Kings of Floods and Kings of Rain David Wengrow 2. The Sudanic Empires: The Gold, the Arts, the River Rahmane Idrissa 3. The Solomonic Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia Habtamu Tegegne and Wendy Laura Belcher 4. The Yoruba and Benin Kingdoms Olatunji Ojo 5. The Kongo Kingdom Cécile Fromont 6. Buganda John Parker 7. From Hausa Kingdoms to the Sokoto Caliphate Muhammadu Mustapha Gwadabe 8. The Akan Forest Kingdom of Asante John Parker 9. The Zulu Kingdom Wayne Dooling

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Book Synopsisa base from which they are able to launch attacks against the Middle East.Once again John Pilger gives a voice to the people living through these momentous times and, in gripping detail, shows us the lives behind the headlines.Trade ReviewPilger is the closest we have to the great correspondents of the 1930s... The truth in his hands is a weapon, to be picked up and brandished and used in the struggle against evil and injustice * Guardian *John Pilger is the antidote to easy, comfortable thinking, to smugness, to ignorance * Daily Telegraph *Pilger's gift is for finding the image, the instant, that reveals all - he is a photographer using words instead of a camera -- Salman RushdieJohn Pilger unearths, with steely attention to facts, the filthy truth and tells it as it is. I salute him -- Harold PinterThe array of interviews with the voiceless and abused provides an indispensable corrective to the litany of disinformation we are fed by the media, and for this achievement Pilger is surely the most outstanding journalist in the world today * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisPart of the ALL-NEW LADYBIRD EXPERT SERIES.____________Why was North Africa such a key component in Britain''s success over Mussolini and his Italian Army?How did they blunt Italy''s actions?What challenges did they face?And what new technologies were brought to bear?When fascist dictator Mussolini declared war against Britain he was taking a huge risk . . . Italy lacked natural resources, and Britain and France''s wealth.He hoped to create a new Roman Empire across the Mediterranean and into Africa. And with Hitler and the Nazi''s by his side he had a great chance of doing so - but what was it that stopped him?Discover the answers and more inside James Holland''s The Desert War, the thrilling and accessible account that explains what happened, who the key figures were and the tactics, triumphs and failures on both sides . . .Trade ReviewPraise for WW2 Ladybird Experts Series * - *Shines a light on some of the darkest and most dramatic moments of the six-year conflict. * Daily Mail *The artwork is gloriously retro, echoing the original Ladybird house style but containing completely up to date information. * Shiny New Books *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"At the core of Bennett's book is the argument that the fierce competition between Portugal and Spain over the African Atlantic, which was significantly mediated by the Church, was crucial to the creation of the modern nation-state and of what became modern European nationalism. Early national identities in Europe were forged, to a substantial extent, on the basis of competition over trade and influence in Africa. And this, Bennett says, gets completely lost in Western histories that fast-forward from the conquest of the Canary Islands to Columbus's arrival in the Americas." * New York Review of Books *"Bennett engages a wide historiography and offers new perspectives on early Atlantic legal culture, political and religious authority, pageantry, and slavery. Bennett complicates the narrative that Europeans rendered Africans into property and capital through Roman law and Christian theology . . . .African Kings and Black Slaves is one of the boldest and most successful attempts yet to engage the fields of African studies, history, and critical theory equally." * Hispanic American Historical Review *"African Kings and Black Slaves is an impressive work that fundamentally challenges current understandings of slavery, empire and modernity, and will likely be the cornerstone of a new body of scholarship it invites." * Bulletin of Spanish Studies *"The book is short but packed with Bennett's analyses of the work of previous and current theorists and scholars. His judgments are acute, and . . . [h]e examines a prodigious amount of theory, using those parts of the corpus and the arguments that are pertinent and demolishing those he deems mistaken or misleading . . . The book is a major accomplishment and a testament to Bennett's wide reading. All those working on Atlantic slavery will need to take it into account." * Renaissance Quarterly *"Herman L. Bennett’s African Kings and Black Slaves is a prelude to an essential contribution to Anglo-American studies of slavery and the slave trade in the Atlantic world. It is a tour de force historiographical essay. The ideological aims underpinning Bennett’s work are rather astute. Bennett offers an incendiary understanding of the 1441 Afro-European contacts against the existing historiography about the Atlantic slave trade." * Black Perspectives *"African Kings and Black Slavesconstitutes an impressive reframing of the origins of African and European sovereignty, absolutism, trade, and the legal and economic underpinnings of slaving and the African diaspora...Bennett’s book is immensely valuable due to his insistence on historicizing fifteenth- and sixteenth-centuryAfrican-Europeanencounters without the totalizing frame of an always already powerful Europe." * H-Altlantic *"An immensely thought-provoking book. In his sophisticated reconsideration of late-medieval European characterizations of sub-Saharan Africans, Herman L. Bennett troubles the traditional account of the rise of the West." * David Wheat, Michigan State University *"Herman L. Bennett's indispensable study alerts us to the political and intellectual consequences of flattening the history of Europe's relations with Africa by overlooking the Iberian experience. He ably shows how recuperating the notion of African sovereignty, abundantly recognized in early exchanges, can fundamentally change our understanding of African polities and African subjects." * Barbara Fuchs, University of California, Los Angeles *"African Kings and Black Slaves centers the histories of peoples of African descent in the grand tale of imperial conquest and power and thereby challenges the dominant narrative that colonial slavery has timelessly been about freedom. Herman Bennett is especially sensitive to the multisited nature of the contests set in motion by colonial encounters." * Antoinette Burton, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign *Table of ContentsPrologue Chapter 1. Liberalism Chapter 2. Mythologies Chapter 3. Law Chapter 4. Authority Chapter 5. Histories Chapter 6. Trade Epilogue Notes Bibliography Index Acknowledgments

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Book Synopsisthe greatest Moroccan travel book of all time:vital reading for the new upmarket Marrakesh tourism - one of the bibles of British twentieth-century Orientalism - by the author of A Ring of Bright Water - describes the extraordinary medieval nature of Morocco in the twentieth century, focussing on a family who combined the lethal elegance of gangland mobsters with the opulent charm of hereditary Indian princes, fed by a monopoly in drugs and prostitution - a perennial classic for the backlist which will sell and sell - POS material available

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Book SynopsisBuilding on socio-legal studies, anthropology, and performance studies, this book challenges depictions of law as a façade for political repression by examining political trials in Zimbabwe after 2000, looking beyond the repression/resistance binary as a way of understanding governments' and citizens' uses of law.Trade Review'In Verheul's masterful account, law shapes (and is shaped by) political subjectivities and norms in crisis-ridden post-colonial Zimbabwe. We see how law works within the state and how meaningful legal practices, claims and institutions can be, for both those in authority and those who resist.' Sara Rich Dorman, University of Edinburgh'Through a finely crafted interweaving of detailed courtroom ethnography, revealing interviews and carefully read legal documents, Susanne Verheul eloquently unfolds the complex relationships between history, law, politics, state authority and citizenship. While contextualised within Zimbabwe, this rich account and its analytical insights has great significance for a wide range of scholarly fields.' Amanda Hammar, University of Copenhagen'A fascinating and vividly painted picture of the way in which power gets enacted in Zimbabwe's courtrooms and a must-read for socio-legal scholars and Africanists alike. Verheul manages to combine disciplinary perspectives and rich case material to dig deep into how power gets constituted and is performed. Highly recommended!' Barbara Oomen, Utrecht UniversityTable of ContentsIntroduction: Law, state authority and the courts, 1. History, authority and the law in Zimbabwe, 1950–2002; 2. 'Rebels' and 'good boys': examining the working conditions in Zimbabwe's attorney general's office after 2000; 3. 'Zimbabweans are foolishly litigious': debating citizenship when engaging with a politicised legal system; 4. 'What is abnormal is normal': performative politics on the stages of arrest and detention; 5. Material and sensory courtrooms: observing the 'decline of professionalism' in Harare's magistrates'' courts; 6. The trials of the 'traitor in Harare's magistrates' courts under the unity government; 7. History, consciousness and citizenship in Matabeleland: the impact of the MLF case; 8. Historical narrative and political strategy in Bulawayo's magistrates' courts: the case of Owen Maseko; Conclusion: 'Government is a legal fiction' – performing law, the state, citizenship and politics.

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Book SynopsisBased around the life of Mademba Sèye, an African born in the colonial town of Saint Louis du Sénégal in 1852, who transformed himself with the help of his French patrons from a telegraph clerk into an African king, this book examines Mademba''s life and career to reveal how colonialism in French West Africa was articulated differently at different times and how Mademba survived these changes by periodically reinventing himself. Investigating Mademba''s alleged abuses of power and crimes that pitted French colonial indirect rule policy with its foundations in patronage and loyalty against its stated commitment to the rule of law and the civilizing mission, Conflicts of Colonialism sheds light on conflicts between different forms of colonialism and the deep ambiguities of the rule of law in colonial societies, which, despite serious challenges to Mademba''s rule, allowed him to remain king until his death in 1918.Trade Review'Richard Roberts paints a vivid and revealing portrait of an African leader who was called at various times an imperial intermediary or a collaborator of the colonizing regime. He brings out brilliantly the uncertainties and violence of the early years of colonial rule in West Africa.' Frederick Cooper, NYU, New York'This is a wonderfully rich and nuanced history of the early phase of French colonial rule in West Africa through the lens of the life of Mademba Sèye, who started his career as a telegrapher and later acquired, backed by his French supporters, the rank of 'King'. Richard Roberts offers highly illuminating insights into the structures of power during the first decades of colonialism and how diverse actors attempted to navigate the challenges of this period.' Andreas Eckert, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin'Mobilizing unparalleled knowledge of the field and decades of careful research, Richard Roberts uses Faama Mademba Sèye's remarkable rise from telegraph clerk to African 'king' to explore the complex dynamics of French colonialism in the Soudan, illuminating the realms of governance, law, economic exploitation, and more.' Elizabeth A. Foster, Tufts University'An astonishing book. Richard L. Roberts is confirmed as a major master, not just of African history but also of the historian's craft in bringing to life what generations of historians always dreamt of, a 'king's' life scattered among thousands of archival documents. A masterpiece.' Alessandro Stanziani, EHESSTable of ContentsIntroduction; 1. Mademba and the foundations of the bargains of collaboration, 1852–1888; 2. Conquest and construction of indirect rule in the French Soudan, 1886–1891; 3. 'A world of deception and defection': Misrule, rebellion, and indirect rule revisted, 1891–1895; 4. 'A curious and very engaging mixture of European and Native customs': Republican traditions and African kings, 1895–1899; 5. The coming storm, 1898–1899; 6. Rule of law and the bargains of collaboration: Mademba on trial, 1899–1900; 7: 'An unexpected and precious collaborator': Mademba's redemption, 1900–1906; 8: Remaking Mademba, 1906–1931; Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisThe Iberian World: 1450â1820 brings together, for the first time in English, the latest research in Iberian studies, providing in-depth analysis of fifteenth- to early nineteenth-century Portugal and Spain, their European possessions, and the African, Asian, and American peoples that were under their rule.Featuring innovative work from leading historians of the Iberian world, the book adopts a strong transnational and comparative approach, and offers the reader an interdisciplinary lens through which to view the interactions, entanglements, and conflicts between the many peoples that were part of it. The volume also analyses the relationships and mutual influences between the wide range of actors, polities, and centres of power within the Iberian monarchies, and draws on recent advances in the field to examine key aspects such as Iberian expansion, imperial ideologies, and the constitution of colonial societies.Divided into four parts and combiniTable of ContentsIntroduction. Part 1: THE IBERIAN PENINSULA (FIFTEENTH‒SEVENTEENTH CENTURY) 1 The shaping of the Iberian polities in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. 2 The political constitution of the Iberian monarchies. 3 The Iberian polities within Europe: politics and state building. 4 Religious identities in the Iberian worlds (1500‒1700). 5 Iberia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. 6 The union between Portugal and the Spanish monarchy (1581– 1640). 7 Iberian society. 8 Women and gender: structures and roles (1400‒1820). 9 The peninsular economies and the impact of globalisation (ca. 1494‒1700). 10 Cultures and communication across the Iberian world (fifteenth–seventeenth centuries). 11 Religious conversion and identities in the Iberian peninsula. 12 Black Africans in the Iberian peninsula (1400–1820). Part 2: EXPANSION AND EMPIRES (FIFTEENTH‒SEVENTEENTH CENTURY) 13 Iberian explorations: the construction of global empires (1450‒1650). 14 Administration and government of the Iberian empires. 15 Patterns of conquest and settlement of the Iberian Americas. 16 Asians in the Iberian world. Tatiana Seijas and ngela Barreto Xavier 17 Amerindians in the Iberian world. 18 Portugal, Spain, and the transatlantic slave trade. 19 Colonial societies in Asia. 20 Europeans, Indians, and Africans in the making of colonial societies. 21 Imperial economies. 22 Artistic experiences in the Iberian world, sixteenth–seventeenth centuries. Part 3: THE EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY IBERIAN WORLD 23 Enlightened politics in Portugal and Spain. 24 Enlightened reformism in Iberian culture and science. 25 Imperial competition in the eighteenth-century Americas. 26 Reform in Spanish and Portuguese America. 27 Social change in the eighteenth-century Iberian world. 28 New imperial economies. Part 4: THE IBERIAN WORLD IN THE AGE OF REVOLUTIONS 29 Protest and resistance against colonial rule in Iberian America. 30 War and revolution in the Iberian Atlantic. 31 Portugal and Spain under the newly established liberal regimes. 32 Independence in Iberian America.

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Book SynopsisNew Directions in African Military History takes a thematic approach to the history of war and military structures in Africa and highlights the under-researched areas.African Military History represents a relatively new and fast-growing sub-field bridging the previously wide gap between the well-established genres of African History and Military History. Based on a synthesis of existing literature and aimed at a wide readership, this book adopts a broad temporal range and uses select examples to highlight a series of points to cover the pre-colonial to post-colonial eras and offering examples from various parts of the continent. This volume evaluates controversial academic debates examining evidence, research methods, approaches, and changing historiographical contexts as well as pointing to potential new areas of research. It comprises seven thematic chapters on ways of war, weapons technology, navies, air power, battles, women combatants, and genocide in African hist

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Book SynopsisA comprehensive and accessible introduction, this book examines a range of issues pertaining to theory, history and critiques of media in Africa.Featuring contributions from global scholars, that represent both new and established voices on the African continent and the diaspora, this volume explores themes of decolonization, media freedom, media censorship, identity, representation, pluralism, media framing, political economy of the media with emphasis on ownership, market trends and transnational media operations in Africa. Contributors explore these and other topics across a variety of media tiers, types, genres and platforms. The book also features contributions from practicing journalists and media practitioners working in Africa, providing students with hands-on knowledge from the field. Chapters in this volume take an instructional approach with contributors engaging key concepts and related theories to explore the praxis of media in Africa through specific case studie

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Book SynopsisZimbabwe''s catastrophic cholera outbreak of 20089 saw an unprecedented number of people affected, with 100,000 cases and nearly 5,000 deaths. Cholera, however, was much more than a public health crisis: it represented the nadir of the country''s deepening political and economic crisis of 2008. This study focuses on the political life of the cholera epidemic, tracing the historical origins of the outbreak, examining the social pattern of its unfolding and impact, analysing the institutional and communal responses to the disease, and marking the effects of its aftermath. Across different social and institutional settings, competing interpretations and experiences of the cholera epidemic created charged social and political debates. In his examination of these debates which surrounded the breakdown of Zimbabwe''s public health infrastructure and failing bureaucratic order, the scope and limitations of disaster relief, and the country''s profound levels of livelihood poverty and social inTrade Review'Chigudu has captured perfectly the political trajectory of a tragedy that formed not only political discourse but political subjectivities - reflected in the rich testimonies he has gathered. It is a book rich in its detail, ultimately bleak, and helps us understand the political condition of Zimbabwe.' Stephen Chan, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London'This compelling book offers important insights into the complex and often disturbing relationship between politics, public health, humanitarianism, state-making and citizen-making. With narrative eloquence that reinforces both its analytical strength and political relevance, it makes a critical contribution to multiple academic and policy fields.' Amanda Hammar, University of Copenhagen'Written with passion, Chigudu powerfully conveys the lived experience of disease, recognises both the impact and limits of humanitarian efforts, and weaves this into a compelling account of state transformation and the struggle for substantive citizenship in Zimbabwe. It should be required reading across the medical and social sciences.' JoAnn McGregor, University of Sussex'Like all first-rate studies of epidemics, Chigudu's book uses a story of contagion to meditate on a host of critical questions - about political power, about cities, about public institutions, about humanitarianism. This arresting, superbly written book will be of great interest to scholars across the social sciences.' Jonny Steinberg, University of Oxford'Chigudu's dissection of the historical, political and economic dimensions of a Zimbabwean public health crisis is clinical in its precision and profoundly disturbing. It is a devastating account of an epidemic, a sophisticated analysis of the political economy of Zimbabwe and of the shortcomings of international humanitarian aid.' Megan Vaughan, University College LondonTable of ContentsIntroduction. Stories and politics of cholera; 1. The making of urban (dis)order: situating the cholera outbreak in historical perspective; 2. 'When people eat shit': cholera and the collapse of Zimbabwe's public health infrastructure; 3. Emergency politics: cholera as a national disaster; 4. The salvation agenda: medical humanitarianism and the response to cholera; 5. 'People were dying like flies': the social contours of cholera in Harare's high-density townships; Conclusion. More to admire than despise?

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Book SynopsisFor decades, Pentecostalism has been one of the most powerful socio-cultural and socio-political movements in Africa. The Pentecostal modes of constructing the world by using their performative agencies to embed their rites in social processes have imbued them with immense cultural power to contour the character of their societies. Performing Power in Nigeria explores how Nigerian Pentecostals mark their self-distinction as a people of power within a social milieu that affirmed and contested their desires for being. Their faith, and the various performances that inform it, imbue the social matrix with saliences that also facilitate their identity of power. Using extensive archival material, interviews and fieldwork, Abimbola A. Adelakun questions the histories, desires, knowledge, tools, and innate divergences of this form of identity, and its interactions with the other ideological elements that make up the society. Analysing the important developments in contemporary Nigerian PentecoTrade Review'The book treads new ground, bringing religion and performance studies into a richly creative tête-à-tête, in which performing Nigerian Pentecostalism translates lived imagination, experience, and praxis into sacred reality. Spiritual power and temporal politics are acted out via the aestheticization and dramatization of Pentecostalism, thus giving it a unique religious niche and identity.' Afe Adogame, Princeton Theological Seminary'This book boldly expands the disciplinary frontiers of Pentecostal studies from anthropology, history and political theory into performance studies, focusing on its creative and dramaturgical expressions of power. This approach and the insightful analysis it generates will no doubt appeal to scholars of Nigerian Pentecostalism from various disciplines.' Olufunke Adeboye, University of Lagos'Performing Power in Nigeria is an excellent study of religion and Pentecostalism in contemporary Nigeria. Drawing from her brilliant scholarship on performance and creative expressions of culture and power, Abimbola Adelakun provides a splendid analysis of the spectacular display of Pentecostal spiritual power and identity.' Annalisa Butticci, Georgetown UniversityTable of ContentsIntroduction; 1. Demons and Deliverance: Discourses on Pentecostal Character; 2. 'What Islamic devils?!': Power Struggles, Race, and Christian Trans-nationalism; 3. 'Touch not Mine Anointed': #MeToo, #ChurchToo, and the Power of 'See Finish'; 4. 'Everything Christianity/the Bible Represents is being Attacked on the Internet!': The Internet and Technologies of Religious Engagement; 5. 'God too laughs and we can laugh too': The Ambivalent Power of Comedy Performances in the Church; 6. 'The Spirit Names the Child': Pentecostal Futurity in the Name of Jesus; Conclusion: Power Must Change Hands: COVID 19, Power, and the Imperative of Knowledge.

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