African history Books

Book SynopsisDrawing from distinctly African source materials and methods, Achebe’s groundbreaking historical account examines the shared power, influence, and authority that uniquely African, female-gendered entities—people, diviners, and deities—exert across Africa’s interconnected physical and spiritual worlds.Trade Review“This brilliant, insightful, and accessible work by a highly gifted historian superbly maps a continent-wide articulation of women’s power, influence, and authority in Africa. Achebe’s African-centered and culturally grounded work mandates a rethinking of African historiography and unveils a deeper understanding of the gender question in Africa.”“A must-read for all lovers of women’s history and a great resource for teaching feminism, sexuality, queer identities, and governance in Africa. Indeed, Achebe deserves high praise for her very powerful contribution to gender and African history.” * African Studies Review *“A brilliant, thoroughly engaging and accessible book … a fascinating and quick read that shows the many, many ways that women across the African continent have always led and continue to lead. It lays permanently to rest the notion of African women as passive or powerless and shows that women play key roles in every sector of society. It also makes a powerful case that African societies have more in common in this regard than differences, despite the continent’s size and diversity. Finally, Achebe makes a welcome contribution to efforts to bring analysis of queer identities to African Studies, showing definitively that notions of gender and sexuality have long been fluid and adaptable on the continent.” * Washington Post *“Achebe has provided students of African and world history with an invaluable guide to the roles played by African women in politics, economics, and religion, past and present. She has done much to fill the gap left in African studies by the shortage of accessible studies such as this one.”“A unique volume … suitable for specialist researchers and popular audiences alike. The book is written in such a way that one could read or teach each chapter independently…. The book is accessible for undergraduate students and it contains critical analysis of key frameworks in African gender studies for researchers or graduate students.” * H-Africa / H-Net Reviews *

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Book SynopsisFor centuries, we have been fascinated with the iconic architecture, mystical religious beliefs, and once-thriving societies of the ancient Egyptians. Starting with a detailed chronology and ending with a comprehensive glossary of terms and bibliography, this meticulously researched resource explores the development of the ancient civilizations of the Egyptians. Organised chronologically, it traces Egyptian history in chapters starting with prehistoric times and including The Age of the Pyramids, The Classical Period, The Empire of the Pharaohs, The Late Period and The Age of Foreign Dominion. Hundreds of photographs of the major sites, three-dimensional reconstructions, and close-up shots of ancient artifacts, statues, and funerary goods take readers on a tour of the pyramids, temples, and other major monuments of ancient Egypt. The images reveal fascinating insights into the religious beliefs and rituals of the ancient Egyptians as well as demonstrate their unsurpassed artisanship and remarkable artistic output. The compelling text provides fascinating information on the everyday lives of the ancient Egyptians, interweaving these details with the thrilling tales of the major archaeological discoveries including those relating to Khufu, Tutankhamun, and Ramesses II.

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Book SynopsisJohn Kirk was the only companion of explorer David Livingstone to emerge untainted from the disastrous, tragic expedition up the Zambezi river between 1859 and 1863. Three years later, Kirk returned to Africa, to the notorious island of Zanzibar, ancient post of the slave trade between Africa and the Middle East.Half a century after the abolition of slavery in Britain, slave traffi cking persisted on Africa's east coast, apparently tolerated and even connived with by parts of the British Empire in the Indian Ocean. Kirk, appointed as medical officer to the British Consulate in Zanzibar, could do nothing.This extraordinary and controversial book brings Kirk's years in Zanzibar to life. The horrors of the overland passage from the interior, and the Zanzibar slave market itself, are vividly described, together with Kirk's final, bitter conflict with Livingstone, who blamed Kirk for his own failings. But it was Kirk's success in closing down the slave trade on the island which made him famous across the world. Using private diaries and papers, a long forgotten Victorian hero and an extraordinary chapter in British history are revived in detail.Trade ReviewThis is a humdinger of a tale. You might have thought that journeys into the heart of the Dark Continent with David Livingstone, Henry Morton Stanley and the likes of Richard Burton had already inspired so vast and breathless a literature that there were few surprises left to report. But that's the miracle of this story. Alastair Hazell's genius has been to plough through the huge and well-documented archive, follow his nose, and tell a tale from an entirely new perspective: the life of Dr John Kirk, an early companion to Dr Livingstone, and afterwards a humble Scottish medical officer and Acting British Consul in Zanzibar. In doing so he turns several accounts on their heads, rectifies a seriously skewed picture, rescues a reputation - and on every page enthralls his readers. -- Matthew Parris * The Spectator *Alastair Hazell is not afraid to tell a good story . . . [this is] the extraordinary story of how a medical functionary opposed to slavery became the effective ruler of the last of the world's great slave-trading nations. * TLS *There is much to enjoy and reflect upon in this carefully researched and briskly told account. * The Economist *Overdue. * Sunday Herald *A fascinating forgotten tale. * Metro *Despite abolition, the slave trade ?ourished on Zanzibar in the late 19th century, until a Scot, John Kirk, stamped it out. The place's exotic, murky history is well evoked. * The Sunday Telegraph *[a] grim but spellbinding account....Hazell tells his story with just the right mix of pace and detail, to keep you hooked. * Independent on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisEnvironments associated with migration are often seen as provisional, lacking both history and architecture. As Anooradha Iyer Siddiqi demonstrates in Architecture of Migration, a refugee camp’s aesthetic and material landscapes—even if born out of emergency—reveal histories, futures, politics, and rhetorics. She identifies forces of colonial and humanitarian settlement, tracing spatial and racial politics in the Dadaab refugee camps established in 1991 on the Kenya-Somalia border—at once a dense setting that manifests decades of architectural, planning, and design initiatives and a much older constructed environment that reflects its own ways of knowing. She moves beyond ahistorical representations of camps and their inhabitants by constructing a material and visual archive of Dadaab, finding long migratory traditions in the architecture, spatial practices, landscapes, and iconography of refugees and humanitarians. Countering conceptualizations of refugeTrade Review“This beautifully written and brilliantly original work elucidates a seemingly irresolvable tension, central to the condition of migrants, between the transience of the refugee category and how refugees’ lives are anchored in hard infrastructures and histories. By tracing the entanglement of aesthetics and politics in the Dadaab refugee camp, Anooradha Iyer Siddiqi ties migration to encampment in a visceral and material way.” -- Miriam Ticktin, author of * Casualties of Care: Immigration and the Politics of Humanitarianism in France *“Architecture of Migration deftly deconstructs humanitarian discourses in architecture, planning, and global crisis management. Its compelling ethnographic research with camp residents and aid workers shares lived experiences within these built-to-be-temporary camps of tents and tarps that have become permanent sprawling urban settlements. Anooradha Iyer Siddiqi’s insightful histories share spatial narratives of lives caught in the wake of colonialism and political, economic, and environmental upheaval. Siddiqi produces an unparalleled study of how neoliberal policies strategically and violently underdevelop spaces for the world’s most vulnerable people.” -- Mabel O. Wilson, Professor of Architecture and Professor of Black Studies, Columbia UniversityTable of ContentsAbbreviations xiii Author’s Note xv Introduction. Architecture and History in a Refugee Camp 1 1. From Partitions 51 2. Land, Emergency, and Sedentarization in East Africa 99 3. Shelter and Domesticity 141 4. An Archive of Humanitarian Settlement 181 5. Design as Infrastructure 249 Afterword. “Poetry Is a Weapon That We Use in Both War and Peace” 305 Acknowledgments 321 Notes 329 Primary Sources 363 References 371 Index 397

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Book SynopsisThis sumptuous book invites you to follow the course of the Nile and Egyptian history on board a floating historical monument, the Steam Ship Sudan. At 100 years old, and made of wood and copper, it is the last steamship still cruising in Upper Egypt and the only survivor of a flotilla established by Sir Thomas Cook at the beginning of the 20th century. Illustrious personalities from British and American high society travelled on board this prestigious ship - archaeologists, diplomats, actors... and writers, including Agatha Christie who drew inspiration from it for Death on the Nile.Table of ContentsChapter I : HISTORY THE ORIGINS OF EGYPTOLOGY FIVE THOUSAND YEARS OF HISTORY THE BIRTH OF TOURISM Chapter II : STEAMERS THE DAY OF THE STEAMERS STEAM SHIP SUDAN PORTRAIT OF A CENTENARIAN A CRUISE IN STYLE CABINS & SUITES THE CREW Chapter III : ALONG THE NILE Chapter IV : PORTRAITS OF EGYPT WHO’S WHO OF THE ORIGINS OF EGYPTOMANIA CONTEMPORARY EGYPT BY DENIS DAILLEUX

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Book SynopsisA Kirkus Reviews Best YA Book of 2022 A USBBY 2023 Outstanding International BookA 2022 Foreword INDIES Bronze Winner (Graphic Novels & Comics Category)Honorable mention, 2023 Children's Africana Book Awards2022 VLA Graphic Novel Diversity Award Overfloweth honoreeNominated for the TLA Maverick List All Rise: Resistance and Rebellion in South Africa revives six true stories of resistance by marginalized South Africans against the country’s colonial government in the years leading up to Apartheid. In six parts—each of which is illustrated by a different South African artist—All Rise shares the long-forgotten struggles of ordinary, working-class women and men who defended the disempowered during a tumultuous period in South African history. From immigrants and miners to tram workers and washerwomen, the everyday people in these stories bore the brunt of oppression and in some cases risked their lives to bring about positive change for future generations. This graphic anthology breathes new life into a history dominated by icons, and promises to inspire all readers to become everyday activists and allies. The diverse creative team behind All Rise, from an array of races, genders, and backgrounds, is a testament to the multicultural South Africa dreamed of by the heroes in these stories—true stories of grit, compassion, and hope, now being told for the first time in print.Trade Review"Exhaustively researched, beautifully illustrated, completely unflinching. All Rise is exactly what a historical comic should be."— C.Spike Trotman, Cartoonist, Founder: Iron Circus Comics“Between the covers of All Rise, Richard Conyngham and a team – no a confederation – of South African artists pull back the curtains on the hidden history of popular resistance to oppression in South Africa before apartheid. Excavated from their hiding places in the archives, these are the virtually untold stories of working men and women – washers, miners, immigrant laborers, farmers. Most importantly, these stories are made legible to anyone, anywhere, as universal histories of defiance and struggle that use art and text to do more than either could alone. Splendid to read on your own, this is also a brilliant tool for the classroom or seminar, complete with original evidence and a plethora of supporting material.”— Trevor R. Getz, author of Abina and the Important Men“This beautifully illustrated graphic novel telling the story of cases about law and social justice in South Africa in the first half of the twentieth century brings them vividly to life. Not only a great read, it is also a valuable educational resource that should spark important conversations about law, (in)justice and history across our country.” – Kate O’Regan, retired Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa“An innovative and impactful way to tell our history. This is the history book I didn't know I needed!” – Dr. Sithembile Mbete, University of Pretoria"For anyone wanting to learn more about the pre-Apartheid culture of South Africa, this book provides a starting point, and with enough information that it would be possible to follow any one of these stories to more information." – ICv2 (Nick Smith, Library Technician and Community Services, Pasadena Public Library in California)“These are smaller, lesser-known stories of South Africa’s past, but no less powerful and important. The tales told within the pages of All Rise are anchored in history, and elevated by subtle and nuanced characters, written with recognition and respect for their roles in these important events. The diversity of art flavours each tale with its own distinct atmosphere, complimenting and enhancing Conyngham’s writing and making every story uniquely accessible.” – Luke Molver, author/illustrator, Shaka Rising and King Shaka: Zulu Legend"As a history teacher, one of the biggest challenges in the classroom is to make the past relatable and accessible to students. All Rise does just that by bringing primary sources to life and contextualizing them in an approachable manner for students. The attention to detail is riveting and the historiography behind the stories will challenge students to think about new ways to present history to future generations. Though a historical work, the questions raised about human rights, citizenship, and systems of justice resonate strongly today. I am thankful for the work Richard Conyngham and all the folks at Catalyst Press are doing and look forward to the class discussions this reading will ignite." –Randall Martinez, Colorado AcademyIncluded in the University of Pittsburgh's Global Issues Through Literature SeriesNamed one of Brittle Paper's "100 Notable African Books of 2022"Included on the United States Board on Books for Young People 2023 Outstanding International Books ListHonorable mention, 2023 Children's Africana Book Awards“Perfect and detailed glimpses into real-life historical events.” – 2022 VLA Graphic Novel Diversity Award Committee, selected as an Overfloweth honoree

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Book SynopsisIn a sweeping narrative that traverses 600 years, one that eloquently weaves precise historical detail with poignant personal reportage, Pulitzer Prize finalist Howard W. French retells the story of medieval and emerging Africa, demonstrating how the economic ascendancy of Europe, the anchoring of democracy in America and the fulfillment of so-called Enlightenment ideals all grew out of Europe’s dehumanising engagement with the “darkest” continent. Born in Blackness dramatically retrieves the lives of major African historical figures whose stories have been repeatedly etiolated and erased over centuries, from unimaginably rich medieval African emperors who traded with Asia; to Kongo sovereigns who heroically battled seventeenth-century European powers; to ex-slaves who liberated Haitians from bondage. In doing so, French tells the story of gold, tobacco, sugar and cotton—and the greatest “commodity” of all, the millions of people brought in chains from Africa to the New World, whose reclaimed histories fundamentally help explain our present world.Trade Review"Born in Blackness is enlivened with personal anecdotes… I found the book to be searing, humbling and essential reading." -- Nigel Cliff - The New York Times"There are few words that can express the resounding impact of French’s breathtaking work on the known historiography of African and African American history . . . Highly recommended for any audience." -- Monique Martinez - Library Journal"The way we think about history is entirely wrong, says Howard W French at the start of this magnificent, powerful and absorbing book... This is not a comfortable or comforting read, but it is beautifully done; a masterpiece even... French writes with the elegance you would expect from a distinguished foreign correspondent, and with the passion of someone deeply committed to providing a corrective." -- Peter Frankopan - The Observer"A recasting of the history of the modern world that places Africa and Africans at the centre of the story. French argues that the rise of the west to global dominance was made possible by the exploration and exploitation of Africa—and, above all, by the slave trade. He recounts the destruction of complex African societies and the scale and brutality of slavery. At the time of Black Lives Matter this is an intensely political message. But French’s book is no work of propaganda and has been hailed as a “masterpiece” by Peter Frankopan, professor of global history at Oxford." -- Financial Times"A very personal book—written with a steely and elegant indignation—it is also an impressively detailed historical account of the role of Africa and Africans in the development of Europe and the Americas... If the strength of Mr. French’s book lies in its quiet but adamant righteousness, it rests also in its empirical force.... It is his view—with which few would rush to argue after reading Born in Blackness—that the sooner the ‘denial’ about the role slaves played in creating America’s prosperity is put to rest, the better Americans as a people will come to understand ‘their country’s true place in world history.’" -- Tunku Varadarajan - Wall Street Journal"Born in Blackness is an extraordinary book that draws deep on [French’s] decades of experience as he seeks to explain the circumstances of Africa’s history with Europeans who were first attracted to the continent in the search of gold and slaves... French’s narrative is a bold retelling of what has often been told, but with additional details that might have escaped the attention of many historians… In many surprising ways, [Born in Blackness] provides a brilliantly argued case for recognition of Africa’s immense contribution to modernity." -- Stephen Williams - African Business"French writes not only to correct the historical record but to urge readers to understand how their world has been made by Africa’s contributions. Born in Blackness is therefore an entry into a larger debate about how to reckon with the past...For French, transforming the way we perceive ourselves as citizens of the most powerful country in the world, and transforming how we understand the part Africans played in building it, are necessary steps toward justice and quality" -- Adom Getachew - The New York Review of Books

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Book SynopsisWaged across an inhospitable terrain which varied from open African savannah to broken mountain country and arid semi-desert, the Anglo-Boer wars of 188081 and 18991902 pitted the British Army and its allies against the Boers'' commandos.The nature of warfare across these campaigns was shaped by the realities of the terrain and by Boer fighting techniques. Independent and individualistic, the Boers were not professional soldiers but a civilian militia who were bound by the terms of the ''Commando system'' to come together to protect their community against an outside threat. By contrast the British Army was a full-time professional body with an established military ethos, but its over-dependence on conventional infantry tactics led to a string of Boer victories. This fully illustrated study examines the evolving nature of Boer military techniques, and contrasts them with the British experience, charting the development of effective British mounted tactics from the fi

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Book Synopsis_______________ ‘Insightful ... Avoiding both modern conceits and romantic fantasies, Suzman chronicles how economics and politics have finally conquered some of the last outposts of hunter-gatherers, and how much humankind can still learn from the disappearing way of life of the most marginalized communities on earth.' - Yuval Noah Harari, author of Sapiens and Homo Deus 'Fascinating' - Sunday Times 'Elegant and absorbing' - Financial Times 'Profoundly moving' - Irish Times _______________ From acclaimed anthropologist James Suzman, a portrait of the 'original affluent society' – the Bushmen of southern Africa – and what their way of life can teach us today. What can we learn from the Bushmen? If the success of a civilisation is measured by its endurance over time, then the Bushmen of the Kalahari are by far the most successful in human history. Anthropologist James Suzman spent twenty-five years in Southern Africa documenting their way of life and encounters with modern society, gathering invaluable lessons about work, wealth, happiness, equality and time. 'To know what it is like to live as people lived for most of human history, you would have to find one of the places where traditional hunting-and-gathering practices are still alive…Fortunately for us, the anthropologist James Suzman did exactly that…The news here is that the lives of most of our progenitors were better than we think. We’re flattering ourselves by believing that their existence was so grim and that our modern, civilized one is, by comparison, so great.' - John Lancaster, The New YorkerTrade ReviewAn insightful and well-written book, describing the hard transition of foraging communities in Namibia from relative affluence during the Stone Age to contemporary poverty and misery. Avoiding both modern conceits and romantic fantasies, Suzman chronicles how economics and politics have finally conquered some of the last outposts of hunter-gatherers, and how much humankind can still learn from the disappearing way of life of the most marginalized communities on earth. * Yuval Noah Harari, author of SAPIENS: A BRIEF HISTORY OF HUMAN KIND and HOMO DEUS: A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOMORROW *To know what it is like to live as people lived for most of human history, you would have to find one of the places where traditional hunting-and-gathering practices are still alive…Fortunately for us, the anthropologist James Suzman did exactly that…The news here is that the lives of most of our progenitors were better than we think. We’re flattering ourselves by believing that their existence was so grim and that our modern, civilized one is, by comparison, so great. * John Lancaster, The New Yorker *Suzman’s descriptive prose and affection for his subjects generate the reader’s genuine empathy…This fascinating glimpse into a disappearing way of life leads Suzman to reflect on our world today: a world where wealth and possessions are valued above all other pursuits. Suzman’s account of the lives of Bushmen, past and present, offers plenty of fuel for thought. * Rachel Newcomb, The Washington Post *Mr Suzman deftly weaves his experiences and observations with lessons on human evolution, the history of human migration and the fate of African communities since the arrival of Europeans. The overarching aim of the book is more ambitious still: to challenge the reader’s ideas about both hunter-gatherer life and human nature. * The Economist *[Suzman creates] a feeling for the landscape, the difficulties encountered by the Bushmen, and the pleasures of their simple, if rapidly changing, way of life... In all, this is a delightful book, full of perceptiveness and understanding. * Science *[A] fascinating book. . . Part-ethnography, part-memoir, this is a poignant account of a culture on the brink of extinction. * Sunday Times *Suzman’s talent for evoking the region’s vast and haunting landscapes, his elegiac account of a passing covenant with nature, and his warm and compassionate character sketches of individual Ju’/hoansi, make this a fascinating and at times profoundly moving work of literary non-fiction. * The Irish Times *[T]hrough neglect, abuse and misunderstanding, an ancient way of life is being finally extinguished… Yet, Suzman argues, even now the Bushmen have much to teach us about a social order that, in many ways, offered a freer, fairer existence and a non-invasive adaption to ecology. * Ben Collyer, New Scientist *This book has truth on every page and is filled with important insights that range from hunting and tracking to how we think about time, money, value or success. * Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, author of THE HARMLESS PEOPLE and THE OLD WAY *This beautiful book--part memoir, part ethnography--offers a window into the lives of one of the most enduring of human cultures . . . If you have ever wondered how it might be to measure wealth not by material possessions but by the strength of social relations between people, read this book. * Wade Davis, author of THE WAYFINDERS and INTO THE SILENCE *[A] beautiful, heartfelt paean. AFFLUENCE WITHOUT ABUNDANCE is learned without being condescending, tender yet unsentimental. It is both a celebration of an ancient way of life and a lament for all that has been lost in our own headlong pursuit of the material. * Peter Godwin, author of MUKIWA and WHEN A CROCODILE EATS THE SUN *A spirited ethnography of the ancestral peoples of the Kalahari . . . A welcome contribution to a once-vibrant anthropological literature without many recent entries. * Kirkus Reviews *In his thoughtful, in-depth look, [Suzman] focuses on the Ju/’hoansi people, whom he has been working with for more than two decades… A fascinating examination of a society drastically changed by forced modernity. * Booklist *

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Book SynopsisThe most secretive, repressive state in Africa is haemorrhaging its citizens. In some months as many Eritreans as Syrians arrive on European shores, yet the country is not convulsed by civil war. Young men and women risk all to escape. Many do not survive - their bones littering the Sahara; their bodies floating in the Mediterranean. Still they flee, to avoid permanent military service and a future without hope. As the United Nations reported: "Thousands of conscripts are subjected to forced labour that effectively abuses, exploits and enslaves them for years." Eritreans fought for their freedom from Ethiopia for thirty years, only to have their revered leader turn on his own people. Independent since 1993, the country has no constitution and no parliament. No budget has ever been published. Elections have never been held and opponents languish in jail. International organisations find it next to impossible to work in the country. Nor is it just a domestic issue. By supporting armed insurrection in neighbouring states it has destabilised the Horn of Africa. Eritrea is involved in the Yemeni civil war, while the regime backs rebel movements in Somalia, Ethiopia and Djibouti.This book tells the untold story of how this tiny nation became a world pariah.

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Book SynopsisWhen Asad was eight years old, his mother was shot in front of him. With his father in hiding, he was swept alone into the great wartime migration that has scattered the Somali people throughout the world.This extraordinary book tells Asad's story. Serially betrayed by the people who promised to care for him, Asad lived his childhood at a sceptical remove from the adult world, living in a bewildering number of places, from the cosmopolitan streets of inner-city Nairobi to towns deep in the Ethiopian desert. By the time he reached the cusp of adulthood, Asad had made good as a street hustler, brokering relationships between hardnosed Ethiopian businessmen and bewildered Somali refugees. He also courted the famously beautiful Foosiya, and married her, to the astonishment of his peers. Buoyed by success in work and in love, Asad put $1,200 in his pocket and made his way down the length of the African continent to Johannesburg, whose streets he believed to be lined with gold. So began an adventure in a country richer and more violent than he could possibly have imagined. A Man of Good Hope is the story of a person shorn of the things we have come to believe make us human personal possessions, parents, siblings. And yet Asad's is an intensely human life, one suffused with dreams and desires and a need to leave something of permanence on this earth.Trade Review[A] testament to the human spirit... An epic African saga that chronicles some fundamental modern issues such as crime, human trafficking, migration, poverty and xenophobia, while giving glimpses into the Somali clan system, repression in Ethiopia and lethal racism in townships... [Steinberg] has delivered a strong insight into the lives of those buffeted by conflict and violence in this tale of a refugee driven by ambition, pride and dreams. Ultimately, it is a powerful testament to the resilience of humanity -- Ian Birrell * Observer *[A Man of Good Hope] tells one man’s extraordinary and moving story, revealing the reality of life at the bottom of the world’s worst pile. -- Richard Dowden * The Times *A masterpiece. Steinberg has illuminated a modern African odyssey to brilliant effect. -- Martin Meredith, author of The State of AfricaWhat a brave, important book. Steinberg’s writing is so human, so humane and so honest. Through the remarkable tale of the truly astonishing character of Asad Abdullahi, Steinberg returns all of us from the despair of distance to the dignity of brotherhood. Steinberg stands shoulder to shoulder with other great writers who have also made sensible and visible so much that might otherwise remain insensible and invisible out of the political and human tragedies all too common in Africa - Michela Wrong, Ryszard Kapuscinski and Ishmael Beah. Steinberg’s central question is one for all of us: what does it means to live a "fully human life" and whom among us has either the courage or the luck to live that life? -- Alexandra FullerAn engrossing book... The humanity, suffering and bravery of Mr Abdullahi are palpable and make A Man of Good Hope a book well worth reading. * The Economist *

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Book SynopsisThis autobiography is about growing up in Egypt. It is also an investigation into childhood perception in which the author uses herself and her memories as an insight into how children see and know. It is a look at Eygpt up to, and including, World War II from a small girl''s point of view, which is also, ultimately, a moving and rather sad picture of an isolated and lonely little girl.Trade ReviewSo vividly evocative that you can smell the dust and dung, jacaranda and the oleander. It offers potent glimpses of British colonial life 50 years ago: the snake-charmer in the garden; the nine-year old Penelope spying on de Gaulle at Government House... The result is a wise, colourful and touching tale * The Times *Lively uses the imaginative power of a mature novelist to evoke the sounds, sights and smells of Cairo which is not so much 'another country as another century' * Independent *

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Book SynopsisThe first new translation in over 400 years of one of the great works of the Renaissance: an African diplomat''s guide to Africa.In 1518, al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Wazzan, a Moroccan diplomat, was seized by pirates while travelling in the Mediterranean. Brought before Pope Leo X, he was persuaded to convert to Christianity, in the process taking the name Johannes Leo Africanus. Acclaimed in the papal court for his learning, Leo would in time write his masterpiece, The Cosmography and the Geography of Africa.The Cosmography was the first book about Africa, and the first book written by a modern African, to reach print. It would remain central to the European understanding of Africa for over 300 years, with its descriptions of lands, cities and peoples giving a singular vision of the vast continent: its urban bustle and rural desolation, its culture, commerce and warfare, its magical herbs and strange animals.Yet it is not a mere catalogue of the exotic: Leo also invited his readers to acknowledge the similarity and relevance of these lands to the time and place they knew. For this reason, The Cosmography and Geography of Africa remains significant to our understanding not only of Africa, but of the world and how we perceive it.

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Book SynopsisFocusing on a single Malian textile identified variously as bogolanfini, bogolan, or mudcloth, Victoria L. Rovine traces the dramatic technical and stylistic innovations that have transformed the cloth from its village origins into a symbol of new internationalism.Trade ReviewWell-organized chapters, extensive notes, an excellent bibliography, and beautiful color and black-and-white illustrations make Bogolan a pleasure to read. It is highly recommended to all those interested in the arts of Africa and in the social and economic transformations that have influenced them during the past decades. * African Studies Review *Rovine has given us a thorough and authoritative account of the adaptability of a given textile to a wide range of local and international modalities. * Textile *. . . [T]his is a very good read for anyone with a passion for textiles and the many stories it can tell.No. 93, 2009 * Textile Fibre Forum *I would recommend Rovine's book to anyone interested in West African culture, negotiations between tradition and modernity, or material culture in general. Her book provides a wealth of information on Bamana artists, markets, clothing, and bogolan. * Folklore Forum *Table of ContentsPreface to the second editionAcknowledgments1. Introduction: Bogolan's Biography2. The Rural Roots of Bogolan3. The Tourist Art Market: Commerce in Authenticity4. Tourist Market Bogolan: Changing Demands, Changing Forms5. Fine Art Bogolan: Between Categories6. The Fine Art Market: From Bogolan to Le Bogolan7. Culture through Clothing: Bogolan as Fashion8. Making It Modern: Bogolan Clothing's Dual Directions9. Bogolan Abroad: Reverberations in the United States10. Conclusion: Making the Traditional ModernNotesSelected BibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisSeeks to understand how the Africa's history is entwined with the histories of others, while exploring Africa's truest assets: "its humanity, the quality and valuation of its own existence, and modes of managing its environment - both physical and intangible (which includes the spiritual)".

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“Medu fought for the liberation of South Africa through screen prints and lithographs . . . This book assembles nearly all the surviving specimens, and should offer young artists a model of collective authorship and political engagement.”—Jason Farago, New York Times (“Best Art Books of 2020”)

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Book SynopsisAn introduction to the complex relationship between African Americans and the African continent What is an African American and how does this identity relate to the African continent? Rising immigration levels, globalization, and the United States' first African American president have all sparked new dialogue around the question. This book provides an introduction to the relationship between African Americans and Africa from the era of slavery to the present, mapping several overlapping diasporas. The diversity of African American identities through relationships with region, ethnicity, slavery, and immigration are all examined to investigate questions fundamental to the study of African American history and culture.Trade Review“Blyden has filled a gap in the scholarship on the relationship between African Americans and Africa by offering a synthetic narrative that contextualizes African American history firmly within the history of the African Diaspora.”—Jeannette Eileen Jones, University of Nebraska–Lincoln“Nemata Blyden has mined the relationship between African Americans and Africa to produce an impressive volume that covers African American connections with Africa from the era of the slave trade to the present.”—Robert R. Edgar, Howard University“African Americans and Africa examines perceptions of Africa based in the reality of experience and construction through propaganda and stereotypes.”—Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin

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Book SynopsisThis new edition of South Africa examines the history of South Africa from 1948 to the present, covering the economic background to racial segregation, the introduction of the oppressive policy of apartheid, the eventual collapse of White supremacy, and the legacy of apartheid to the present day.Fully revised, the fourth edition incorporates new original research, particularly from the records of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and includes additional popular culture images, such as posters linked to the international anti-apartheid struggle. These help to further emphasise the mounting popular opposition to state repression in the 1970s and 1980s. By developing an analysis of recent economic and political issues that are rooted in the apartheid regime, particularly the continuing divide between rich and poor along racial lines and the impact of public corruption known as ''state capture'', South Africa provides a current, clear, and succinct introductTrade ReviewPraise for previous edition:"South Africa: The rise and fall of apartheid provides a detailed, informed, and highly readable introduction to the major themes concerning apartheid South Africa, its development, evolution, and ultimately its collapse. It offers a quick and informative entry point for those new to South African history, covering a broad overview of key political, societal and economic issues. What makes this book particularly useful is the section assessing the diverse historiography, supplemented by a range of key primary documents from across the apartheid era. An analytical and accessible insight into apartheid South Africa." Matthew Graham, University of Dundee, UK "Clark and Worger’s South Africa remains one of the most relevant yet accessible texts for students of Apartheid. Including key timelines, source documents and analytical essays this 3rd edition shows the universal demand for this important work which has been updated to incorporate life in post-Apartheid South Africa up to 2015."Nicholas J. Evans, University of Hull, UK"The 3rd edition of Clark & Worger's South Africa is a wonderfully concise but extremely thorough account of apartheid, which makes the complexities and contradictions of modern South African history accessible to undergraduate students. The addition of electronic resources, films, and suggestions for further reading in the the 3rd edition not only complement the combination of narrative and primary sources within the text, but also serve as a valuable tool for instructional course design and student research. It is an ideal text for an undergraduate classroom."Molly McCullers, University of West Georgia, USA "This revised edition offers a timely and relevant introduction to a complex and still contested period of South Africa’s past. It is thoughtfully expanded to include primary sources and recent historiography which emphasize the social dimensions and repercussions of apartheid. Teachers and students of South African history will find the historical documents and the updated further reading (with new visual and online sources) sections particularly useful resources."Rebekah Lee, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK Table of ContentsPart I: Setting the scene 1. Introduction 2. Historical background Part II: Analysis 3. The basis of apartheid 4. Growing contradictions 5. The collapse of apartheid Part III: Assessment 6. A legacy of inequality Part IV: Documents

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Book SynopsisProvides a general introduction to the cultural history of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. It then presents a translation of the only known native narratives, written in Greek, of the histories of these two civilizations. This volume will appeal to all people interested in ancient Israel, Greek history, and ancient history in general.

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Book Synopsis6 symbols with an ancient past: the scarab beetle; cobra goddess Renenutet; falcon god Horu; vulture goddess Nekhbet; the Eye of Horus; and Amun, the king of gods, depicted as a ram.

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Book SynopsisAn essential guide for the discerning time-traveller: take a trip to ancient Egypt at the height of its power and prosperity in the reign of Ramesses II. More reliable than Herodotus and more upbeat than The Book of the Dead, this popular book in Thames & Hudson's successful Time Travel series takes the reader to Ancient Egypt in the time of Ramesses II (1250BC). Egyptologist Donald Ryan guides the time-travelling tourist on a journey up the Nile, and en route he offers useful advice on everything from deciphering hieroglyphics to mummifying household pets. So leave the protective amulets at home and banish all fear of being sold as a galley slave this imaginative guide is all you need to survive and enjoy your visit to Egypt in its golden age.

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Book SynopsisThe overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi has been one of the twenty-first century''s defining moments: the Arab world''s most bizarre dictator brought down by his own people with the aid of NATO aircraft. Lindsey Hilsum was in Libya when Gaddafi met his squalid end. She traces the history of his strange regime from its beginnings - when Gaddafi had looks, charisma and popular appeal - to its paranoid, corrupt final state. At the heart of her book, however, is a brilliant narrative of Libyan people overcoming fear and disillusionment and finding the strength to rebel. Hilsum follows five of them through the terror and tragedy. This is the story of modern Libyan as it was lived, from the excesses of dictatorship to violent revolution. Sandstorm will take its place in a library of classic books about turning points of history.

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Book SynopsisA comprehensive overview of the Berber-speaking peoples. From the first appearance of humans in the Maghreb, through the rise of the formidable Berber kingdoms of Numidia and Mauretania, the book traces the origins of the distinct characteristics of these disparate and segmented people.Trade Review"Brett and Fentress have produced a remarkable study of the Berber-speaking peoples of North Africa that is both scholarly and highly readable." American Journal of Archaeology. "Fentress and Brett combine their efforts to produce a well-rounded history of the Berbers ... a solid introduction for English-speaking students at all levels." CHOICE. 'Here at long last is a decent and thoroughly worthwhile general book on Berbers.' Journal of North African StudiesTable of ContentsList of Plates x List of Figures xii List of Maps xiv Series Editors' Preface xv Preface xvii Introduction 1 1. Berbers in Antiquity 10 2. The Empire and the Other: Romans and Berbers 50 3. The Unification of North Africa by Islam 81 4. The Arabization of North Africa 120 5. The Wheel of State 154 6. Pastoral Berbers: Nomads, Slaves and Saints 200 7. The Society and its Habitat 231 8. Berbers and Berberism 271 Notes 283 Bibliography 319 Index 340

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Book SynopsisElspeth Huxley was born in 1906, the daughter of Major Josceline Grant of Njoro, Kenya, where she spent most of her childhood. She was educated at the European School in Nairobi and at Reading University where she took a diploma in agriculture, and at Cornell University, USA. In 1929 she joined the Empire Marketing Board as a press officer. She married Gervas Huxley in 1931 and travelled widely with him in America, Africa and elsewhere. She was on the BBC General Advisory Council from 1952 to 1959, when she joined the Monckton Advisory Commision on Central Africa. She wrote novels, detective fiction, biography and travel titles, and her books include The Flame Trees of Thika (1959), The Challenge of Africa (1971), Livingstone and His African Journeys (1974), Florence Nightingale (1975), Scott of the Antarctic (1977), Nellie: Letter from Africa (1980), Whipsnade: Captive Breeding for Survival (1981), The Prince Buys the Manor (1982Trade ReviewShe knows East Africa and she loves it - the people, black and white, and the wild beauy of its countryside - with a critical and understanding sympathy * The Times *More lyrical than the first volume * The Washington Post *

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Book SynopsisThis is the first book in English to provide a comprehensive account of the rise and fall of the Almoravids and the Almohads, the two most important Berber dynasties of the medieval Islamic west, an area that encompassed southern Spain and Portugal, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. The Sanhaja Almoravids emerged from the Sahara in the 1050s to conquer vast territories and halt the Christian advance in Iberia. They were replaced a century later by their rivals, the Almohads, supported by the Masmuda Berbers of the High Atlas. Although both have often been seen as uncouth, religiously intolerant tribesmen who undermined the high culture of al-Andalus, this book argues that the eleventh to thirteenth centuries were crucial to the Islamisation of the Maghrib, its integration into the Islamic cultural sphere, and its emergence as a key player in the western Mediterranean, and that much of this was due to these oft-neglected Berber empires.

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Book SynopsisFrancisco Freire is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the NOVA School of Social Sciences and Humanities in Lisbon, Portugal, and Researcher at The Centre for Research in Anthropology (CRIA), Lisbon, Portugal. He is the author of many articles and book chapters on Islam and the Sahara, including contributions to the Journal of North African Studies, African Studies Review, History and Anthropology and Journal of Modern African Studies.Trade ReviewThis splendidly interdisciplinary and engagingly written book is a powerful contribution to a new understanding of Saharan modes of cultural change and continuity. Its brilliantly researched case studies, and insightful Introduction and Postscript, dispel diehard stereotypes of “immemorial” patterns and abrupt ruptures, and disclose innovation and transformational reappropriations of tradition. * Paulo Fernando de Moraes Farias, Professor, University of Birmingham, UK *Table of ContentsPreface: Benjamin Soares, University of Florida, USA Introduction: Shifting Sands: State, Society and Islam in the Western Regions of the Sahara, Francisco Freire, NOVA FCSH, Portugal PART I: State Chapter 1: A Land of Opportunities: Political Morphologies at the Northwestern Saharan Frontier (1934-1960), Alberto Lopéz Bargados, University of Barcelona, Spain Chapter 2: A Historical Perspective on Legal Practices in Sahrawi Society (1958-2019), Enrique Bengochea Tirado, NOVA FCSH / CRIA, Portugal Chapter 3: Magnitudes of Sahrawi Nomadism throughout Colonialism and Refugeehood, Juan Carlos Gimeno, Autonoma University, Madrid, Spain and Julien Lafontaine Carboni, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland Chapter 4: The Flexible Use of Democracy in an Islamic Republic: The Case of the Mauritanian President Abdel Aziz (2009-2019), Elemine Ould Mohamed Baba Moustapha, University of Nouakchott, Mauritania PART II: Society Chapter 5: Artisanal Gold Mining in Mauritania, Moustapha Taleb, NOVA FCSH / CRIA, Portugal Chapter 6: Unsettling Gender and Feminism: Views from Mauritania, Maria Cardeira da Silva, NOVA FCSH, Portugal Chapter 7: Funeral Orations, the Web and Politics: The Online Making of National Heroes in Mauritania and the Western Sahara in Poems and Songs, Sébastien Boulay, Faculté des sciences humaines et sociales de la Sorbonne, Université de Paris, France and Mohamed Meidah, University of Nouakchott, Mauritania Chapter 8: Haratin Activism in Post-Slavery Mauritania: Abolition, Emancipation and the Politics of Identity, David Malluche, University of Bayreuth, Germany PART III: Islam Chapter 9: On the (Body of the) Subject in the Sahara: Mu?ummadhun Fal b. Muttali’s Fat? al-?aqq (19th century), Abdel Wedoud Ould Cheikh, Université de Lorraine, France Chapter 10: The Past and Present of the Ghu?fiyya Sufi Order from the Western Regions of the Sahara, Yahya Ould al-Bara, University of Nouakchott, Mauritania Chapter 11: Islamic Traditional Schooling in a Globalized Context: A Case-Study from the Teisir Mahadra (southwestern Mauritania), Mariem Baba Ahmed, NOVA FCSH / CRIA, Portugal and Zahra Horma, NOVA FCSH / CRIA, Portugal Chapter 12: Islam, Blasphemy, and Realpolitik in Mauritania: The Case of Mohamed Mkhaitir, Francisco Freire, NOVA FCSH, Portugal Postface: Reflections on Research Ethics in Complex Contexts—Navigating Politics, Pragmatics, and Positionality, Leonardo Villálon, University of Florida, USA and Irina Branco da Silva, NOVA FCSH

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Book SynopsisThe Cape Verde Islands, an Atlantic archipelago off the coast of Senegal, were first settled during the Portuguese Age of Discovery in the fifteenth century. A Crioula population quickly evolved from a small group of Portuguese settlers and large numbers of slaves from the West African coast. In this important, integrated new study, Dr. Richard Lobban sketches Cape Verde''s complex history over five centuries, from its role in the slave trade through its years under Portuguese colonial administration and its protracted armed struggle on the Guinea coast for national independence, there and in Cape Verde. Lobban offers a rich ethnography of the islands, exploring the diverse heritage of Cape Verdeans who have descended from Africans, Europeans, and Luso-Africans. Looking at economics and politics, Lobban reflects on Cape Verde''s efforts to achieve economic growth and development, analyzing the move from colonialism to state socialism, and on to a privatized market economy built around Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- The Historical Setting -- Society and Culture -- Radicals, Soldiers, and Democrats: Politics in Cape Verde -- Peasants, Socialists, and Capitalists: Economics in Cape Verde -- Conclusion: Cape Verde at the End of the Twentieth Century

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Book SynopsisFor some, Zimbabwe’s President Mugabe is a liberation hero who confronted white rule and oversaw the radical redistribution of land. For others, he is a murderous dictator who drove his country to poverty. This concise biography, in a highly successful series, reveals the complexity of the man who led Zimbabwe for its first decades of independence.Trade Review“In this sober biography of one of Africa’s longest-serving presidents, Onslow and Plaut provide a brief but comprehensive overview of a controversial leader who’s largely reviled in the West but often revered in Africa.…Written in lucid prose, the informative book is commendable for its balanced assessment of 37 years’ worth of very tumultuous events.” * Publishers Weekly *“An excellent, accessible book on the opaque life and legacy of Robert Mugabe.”“Using paradoxes and ironies, [Onslow and Plaut] skillfully portray the dilemma Mugabe weaved Zimbabwe into: ‘support for democracy, good governance, human rights, and rule of law,’ the authors write, yet brutal repression of political opponents; the dispossession of land from former colonial white farmers, and land redistribution creating a new class of a few top official landowners.…Summing Up: Highly recommended.” * CHOICE Reviews *Praise for the Ohio Short Histories of Africa series: “I am a huge fan of Ohio University Press’s Ohio Short Histories of Africa series. I use them to teach my introductory-level African politics students about oppression, resistance, liberation, and corruption, and I recommend the books to anyone who asks as an affordable and accessible introduction to a wide range of topics in African studies.” * The Washington Post *

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Book SynopsisCombining methods from African studies, science and technology studies, and medical anthropology, Marissa Mika considers the Uganda Cancer Institute as a microcosm of the Ugandan state and as a lens through which to trace the political, technological, moral, and intellectual aspirations and actions of health care providers and patients.Trade Review“Mika’s lively history shows how Ugandan physician-scientists used cancer research to build oncology care and infrastructure over five decades of labile national politics, pervasive scarcity, and often ephemeral international partnerships. This engaging account illuminates struggles that shaped both global oncology knowledge and the fates of hundreds of thousands of Ugandans facing cancer diagnoses.” -- Claire L. Wendland, author of A Heart for the Work: Journeys through an African Medical School“Based on rich historical and ethnographic research, Africanizing Oncology provides an intimate, and at times harrowing view of the day-to-day activities of care, research, and healing that permitted physicians, researchers, nurses, and patients to survive civil war, structural adjustment, and massive global disparities in health resources to build and sustain an African cancer research institute. The book is a remarkable achievement.” -- Randall M. Packard, author or A History of Global Health: Interventions into the Lives of Other Peoples“In this historically and ethnographically rich book, Marissa Mika shows how African doctors and nurses practice oncology by creating, adapting, and transforming medical infrastructures. Tracing the life of the Uganda Cancer Institute through historical periods of independence, dictatorship, war, structural adjustment, and the HIV pandemic, this powerful book reveals the challenges and opportunities of Africanizing oncology. This is a landmark study on the history—and future—of global oncology.” -- Carlo Caduff, author of The Pandemic Perhaps: Dramatic Events in a Public Culture of Danger“In recounting half a century of research and care at the Uganda Cancer Institute, Marissa Mika tells an unforgettable story of the power of connections and the consequences of their loss. Ugandan physician/researchers and their staff proved the value of therapies because they had made friendships that motivated families to return to Kampala for follow-up, but that knowledge became useless when funders’ priorities changed and international partnerships ended. Mika’s story of UCI shows horrifying wounds—and the possibility of healing—in postindependence Uganda, in global health, and in the way we think about the world.” -- Holly Hanson, author of To Speak and Be Heard: Seeking Good Government in Uganda, ca. 1500–2015

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Book SynopsisWritten by one of the foremost scholars of African art and featuring more than 125 color images, Postcolonial Modernism chronicles the emergence of artistic modernism in Nigeria in the heady years surrounding political independence in 1960.Trade Review“As a book that documents the trajectory of colonial and post-colonial states of visual arts in Nigeria, Okeke-Agulu’s Postcolonial Modernism is no doubt a compact scholarly work that highlights the dynamics of the past and politics of a period that could have been the Nigerian renaissance in the post-independence era.” -- Tajudeen Sowole * The Guardian (Lagos) *“Through contemporary documentation, such as the magazine Black Orpheus, which published criticism, reviews, portfolios, and well-chosen illustrations, Okeke-Agulu offers thorough formalist and analytical readings of works of art. Knowledge of Nigerian artists Aina Onabolu, Bruce Onobrakpeya, Demas Nwoko, Simon Okeke, Yusuf Grillo, El Anatsui, and Jimo Akolo, as well as those who supported and promoted their work, such as Ulli Beier and Kenneth Murray, is broadened without delving into the minutiae of biography. … Recommended. All levels of undergraduates and above.” -- M. R. Vendryes * Choice *“The book unfolds dramatically, tracing the trajectory of Nigerian history from the colonial era through the euphoric independence years to the tragic aftermath of the post-independence period. Its seven chapters constitute an engrossing page-turner and offer a cathartic crescendo which climaxes when the author invokes Mbari--ephemeral, elaborate earthen monuments to the lgbo goddess Ala in its final pages. . . . One of this text's greatest accomplishments is the way in which it calls attention to ... under-appreciated work, while carefully situating it within a larger, sociopolitical context.” -- Carol Thompson * Art Papers *“Chika Okeke-Agulu’s thoroughly researched and beautifully illustrated Postcolonial Modernism significantly advances an understanding of modern African art. …[A] major contribution to the fields of modern African art and global modernisms. For readers unfamiliar with modern Nigerian art, it serves as a comprehensive introduction. For those who study modern Nigerian and African art, the figures, movements, and artistic concerns will be largely familiar, but Okeke-Agulu examines them with unprecedented depth and complexity, while situating them within a broader global context.” -- Rebecca Wolff * CAA Reviews *"The book is an enormously valuable contribution to our understanding of Nigerian art history, both in its text and its 127 illustrations, many of which will be new to many scholars.... It is a book that belongs in the library of every scholar interested in African art history, Nigeria, modernism, and postcolonial studies." -- Jean M. Borgatti * International Journal of African Historical Studies *"With textured analyses of artworks from unpublished archives, Okeke-Agulu’s research enriches the field of art history by offering the Nigerian experience of modernism as impetus to seek out other modernisms from the Global South. Informative for scholars in the field of African studies, this book is equally legible for undergraduate and graduate courses, or even for nonspecialists who are searching for meaningful ways to rethink the existing, incomplete narratives concerning modernity and Africa." -- Joseph L. Underwood * Art Journal *"When I first picked up this handsome book, a sense of wonder swept over me.... Readers will surely take from this wonderful book a new appreciation for twentieth-century Nigerian art and its role in postcolonial modernism." -- Monica Blackmun Visonà * Art Bulletin *"Chika Okeke-Agulu’s book on art and decolonization is an extensive and highly detailed investigation of the emergence of artistic modernism in Nigeria from the late 1950s to the civil war in 1967. . . . The book is without doubt a significant contribution to the study of mid- to late twentieth-century Nigerian art. However, it is important to recognize Postcolonial Modernism has the potential to appeal not only to scholars, but also to a broader audience." -- Fred Smith * H-AfrArts, H-Net Reviews *"This book offers readers a complex study into the development of Nigerian modernism within a wider political, cultural, and artistic context of decolonization. Chika Okeke-Agulu successfully achieves a delicate balancing act, keeping the individual artists and their work at the center of this critical enquiry while also analyzing how they were connected to a wider art world context." -- Helena Cantone * African Studies Quarterly *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations ix Acknowledgments xiii Introduction. Postcolonial Modernism 1 1. Colonialism and the Educated Africans 21 2. Indirect Rule and Colonial Modernism 39 3. The Academy and the Avant-Garde 71 4. Transacting the Modern: Ulli Beier, Black Orpheus, and the Mbari International 131 5. After Zaria 183 6. Contesting the Modern: Artists' Societies and Debates on Art 227 7. Crisis in the Postcolony 259 Notes 291 Bibliography 313 Index 327

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsTable of Contents: 1--Plane Crash 2--Background 3--Childhood 4--Wakening 5--Charles 6--Trouble 7--Tightening Net 8--April 16 9--Haven 10--Loneliness 11--Interlude 12--Peace with Bugarama 13--Aftermath 14--My Calling 15--Beata 16--Healing 17--Antoine 18--Community 19--Forgiveness

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Book SynopsisDuring the war, Gerald Hanley spent several years in the remote and scorching deserts of Somalia. The rigours of living in such heat, and the difficulties of attempting to control blood-feuding nomads, led to the suicide of seven fellow-officers. Despite these problems, Gerald Hanley writes with great affection for the local clans, an affection that is untainted by sentimentality. Of all the races of Africa, there cannot be one better to live among than the most difficult, the proudest, the bravest, the vainest, the most merciless, the friendliest: the Somalis.Trade Review"the foremost writer of his generation" Ernest Hemmingway"

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Book SynopsisAll you need to know about the island's myths, legends and its gods

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Book SynopsisThis Element is aimed at discussing the relations between Egypt and its African neighbours. In the first section, the history of studies, the different kind of sources available on the issue, and a short outline of the environmental setting is provided. In the second section the relations between Egypt and its African neighbours from the late Prehistory to Late Antique times are summarized. In the third section the different kinds of interactions are described, as well as their effects on the lives of individuals and groups, and the related cultural dynamics, such as selection, adoption, entanglement and identity building. Finally, the possible future perspective of research on the issue is outlined, both in terms of methods, strategies, themes and specific topics, and of regions and sites whose exploration promises to provide a crucial contribution to the study of the relations between Egypt and Africa.Table of Contents1. Introduction; 2. Egypt and its African neighbours; 3. Africans in Egypt, Egyptians in Africa; 4. Conclusions; References.

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Book SynopsisPhilip Gooding analyses Lake Tanganyika as a crucial frontier zone of the wider Indian Ocean World during the nineteenth century. Using interdisciplinary sources and methods, he positions African peoples and environments as integral to the histories of global economies, religions, and cultures.

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Book SynopsisDrawing from extensive fieldwork in Kenya and the United Kingdom, Leslie Fesenmyer considers the kinship dilemmas moral, material, and affective facing transnational families. By asking who is responsible for whom, she reveals that questions of intergenerational care are at the heart of relations between individuals, societies, and states.

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Book SynopsisThis book chronicles the rise and the development of postcolonial agency since Africa's encounter with Western modernity through African and African diaspora literature and film. Using African and African diasporic imaginaries (creative writings, autobiographies, polemical writings, and filmic media), the author shows how African subjects have resisted enslavement and colonial domination over the past centuries, and how they have sought to reshape global modernity. Authors and film makers whose works are examined in detail include Olaudah Equiano, Haile Gerima, Amma Asante, George Washington Williams, William Sheppard, Wole Soyinka, Dani Kouyaté, Chris Abani, Chimamanda Adichie, and Leila Aboulela.Providing a critical study of nativism, hybridity and post-hybrid conjunctive consciousness, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of African and African diasporic literature, history, and cultural studies.Trade Review"Engaging an impressive range of literary and cultural texts spanning centuries and continents, Losambe celebrates a "postcolonial agency" that -- at times counter-intuitively -- unites decoloniality and ambivalence, in a studied meditation on the politics of interstitality." Laura T. Murphy, Professor of Human Rights and Contemporary Slavery, Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice, Sheffield Hallam University, UK"An expansive and illuminating study of figures who disrupted colonial and other dehumanizing agendas from within the establishment, not as alienated collaborators but as mindful yet subversive insiders. This book invites us to redefine the notion of anti-/postcolonial agency in its unending dialogue with and against Western modernity."Moradewun Adejunmobi, Professor of African American and African Studies, University of California, Davis, USA"This book raises crucial questions to rethink African modernity: 'How did we get here?' 'Why are we still witnessing class, racial, ethnic, gender, sexual religious hostilities and injustices?' 'What conditions would allow for the possibility of a new humanity that promotes and celebrates multiculturalism, mutualism, biodiversity, and conviviality?' The author approaches these questions through readings of major cultural producers who have profoundly shaped the historical, political and philosophical map of knowledge. His subtle and complex analysis of these rich texts is a tour de force and a unique contribution that will enrich the African Archive."Frieda Ekotto, Lorna Goodison Professor of Afroamerican and African Studies, The University of Michigan, USA"The breadth and depth of Lokangaka Losambe’s literary research resulting in this book is very impressive. Losambe opens our eyes and minds to the crisscrossing and integrative experiences of Africans in the Home Continent and Diaspora and, instead of lamenting the European disruption of others with colonialism, picks on the agency exercised by the people of African descent. In the book’s three sections consisting of a total of six chapters and a concluding coda, Losambe distills from fiction, autobiography, plays, and other forms of "letters" the essence of the African people’s postcolonial agency through their imaginative writings to affirm the fecund African imagination at home and in the diaspora. This book is meticulous, profound, and groundbreaking. With it Losambe restores a measure of classicism to the criticism of African literature today." Tanure Ojaide, Ph.D., Frank Porter Graham Professor of Africana Studies, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA "This is a rewarding book: expansive in its coverage, valuable in its contemporaneity. Reading widely from the eighteenth century to the twenty-first, Lokangaka Losambe explores the contributions of a multiracial gathering that includes missionaries, memoirists, novelists, and filmmakers. In doing so, he brings out the incisive visions that a long tradition of African and African Diasporic intellectual work makes available. This book surely enriches our conversations in African and Black Diasporic cultural criticism."Olakunle George, Professor of English, Brown University, USATable of ContentsTable of ContentsACKNOWLEGDEMENTS * INTRODUCTION *I. THE ENSLAVED AFRICAN AND POSTCOLONIAL AGENCY *1. Olaudah Equiano’s The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, The African, Written by Himself; Haile Gerima’s Sankofa (film); Amma Asante’s Belle (film) *II. THE BLACK AMERICAN STRANGER AND POSTCOLONIAL AGENCY IN AFRICA: THE CONGO NARRATIVE *2. The Anti-Enslavement/-Colonial Activist: George Washington Williams (1849-1891) *3. The Postcolonial Pragmatist: William Henry Sheppard (1865-1927) *4. The Other Allies *III. ARTICULATIONS OF POSTCOLONIAL AGENCY IN CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN LITERATURE *5. The Colonial Encounter and Postcolonial Agency in Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman and Dani Kouyaté’s Keita! L’éritage du Griot (Film) *6. Postcolonial Conjunctive Consciousness in the Literature of the New African Diaspora: Chris Abani’s The Virgin of Flames, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah, Leila Aboulela’s The Translator *CODA: Francis Abiola Irele and the African Imagination *BIBLIOGRAPHY *FILMOGRAPHY *INDEX *

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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