African history Books
Reaktion Books A Short History of Tomb-Raiding: The Epic Hunt
Book SynopsisTo secure a comfortable afterlife, ancient Egyptians built fortress-like tombs and filled them with precious goods, a practice that generated staggering quantities of artefacts over the course of many millennia, but one which has also drawn thieves and tomb-raiders to Egypt since antiquity. Drawing on modern scholarship, reportage and period sources, this book tracks the history of treasure-seekers in Egypt and the social contexts in which they operated, revealing striking continuities throughout time. Readers will recognize the foibles of today’s politicians and con artists, the perils of materialism, and the cycles of public compliance and dissent in the face of injustice. In describing an age-old pursuit and its timeless motivations, A Short History of Tomb-Raiding shows how much we have in common with our Bronze Age ancestors.
£21.25
Berghahn Books On the Edges of Whiteness: Polish Refugees in
Book Synopsis From 1942 to 1950, nearly twenty thousand Poles found refuge from the horrors of war-torn Europe in camps within Britain’s African colonies, including Uganda, Tanganyika, Kenya and Northern and Southern Rhodesia. On the Edges of Whiteness tells their improbable story, tracing the manifold, complex relationships that developed among refugees, their British administrators, and their African neighbors. While intervening in key historical debates across academic disciplines, this book also gives an accessible and memorable account of survival and dramatic cultural dislocation against the backdrop of global conflict.Trade Review “Overall, Lingelbach’s work has provided a much needed spotlight onto the complex and ambivalent position of a ‘subaltern white’ and is careful to frequently reiterate to the reader that the Polish refugees were by no means a homogenous group. Taken together, the distinctions of gender, class, ethnicity and religion have made this case study an important insight into a time when British colonial rule was on the brink of collapse… This is an excellently researched book which employs the use of original oral histories, extensive archival work, and some of the most thorough footnoting ever witnessed.” • European History Quarterly “Lingelbach takes the reader through this unusual story, skilfully blending ‘global history’ approaches, refugee-, postcolonial- and subaltern studies with gender perspectives and national (Polish) history. Given his background in African studies, the author brings a fresh perspective, approaching each of these disciplines, particularly the historiography of Poland, in an admirably novel way… A fascinating study… shows that going beyond Eurocentrism can produce truly inspiring historiographical outcomes.” • War in History “Jochen Lingelbach is to be applauded for his elegant handling of a complex narrative, switching between British colonies without losing the reader; the author writes in clear prose, masterfully leads his readers through each chapter, and brings home his points powerfully in the conclusion. This enlightening study is enriched with helpful maps, drawings and photographs depicting life in the refugee settlements.” • Revue d'Histoire Contemporaine de l'Afrique “Lingelbach deserves high praises for this clever book that sets the tone for further inquiries into the place of Polish and other “subaltern whites” in colonial settings. His erudition is commendable, as is his ability to connect social and intellectual issues to broader colonial geopolitics, including the demystification of whiteness and independence of colonies in Africa after World War II…This will be an important book for years to come.” • H-Poland “Taken together, the chapters offer persuasive insights into the ambivalent position of Polish refugees in their hosting countries and their complex interactions with the different actors of colonial societies. Lingelbach convincingly argues that they were similar to many subaltern groups such as the poor, criminals, and lunatics. They were, therefore, ‘located on the edges of whiteness’…Certainly, the book significantly contributes to refugee history, whiteness studies, and the history of colonial Africa during and after the Second World War.” • Journal of Contemporary History “Lingelbach places the Polish settlers at the centre of a complicated web of relations in terms of race, gender and class, as well as processes such as the Second World War, Poland’s post-war status as a Soviet satellite, decolonisation, the new, post-war global refugee regime, etc. The story he tells is thus complex, novel and interesting.” • H-Soz-Kult “This is a solid piece of research that addresses a rarely explored aspect of the global refugee crisis of the World War II era. In drawing comparisons between the Poles' experiences in different countries and regions, it gives voice to the African perspective and provides a much-needed contextualization of the refugees' reception.” • Lynne Taylor, University of Waterloo “This fascinating book adds considerably to the literature on refugee history and whiteness studies. Tracing the experience of Polish refugees across multiple colonies, Jochen Lingelbach demonstrates the necessity of closely attending to the peculiarities of the context in which any group of refugees seeks shelter.” • Brett Shadle, Virginia TechTable of Contents List of Illustrations Preface List of Abbreviations Introduction Chapter 1. How the Poles Came to Africa Chapter 2. The Postwar Refugee Regime and the Imperial Order of Things Chapter 3. Comparing Colonialisms in Africa and Poland Chapter 4. ‘An Incredible Pool of Femininity’: Gendering the Refugees Chapter 5. Polish Refugees as Part of Colonial Society Conclusion: On the Edges of Whiteness Bibliography Index
£26.55
Seagull Books London Ltd Words – A Collation
Book SynopsisAn exploration of phrases and excerpts that inspire a major contemporary artist. Over the past several years, renowned South African artist William Kentridge has made a collection of particular phrases and sentences that have called out to him from the pages of whatever he has been reading. And these phrases, which he has written into a studio notebook titled Words, have been put to work in many of his artistic projects. Kentridge has often begun a project by paging through the notebook, waiting for a phrase to claim its place in the new work. The text excerpts come from many sources: Aimé Césaire, Yehuda Amichai, Sigmund Freud, James Joyce, Setswana proverbs, the Book of Ecclesiastes, Tristan Tzara’s Dada Manifesto, and a range of eastern European poets. This volume presents a selection made from the notebook, with phrases arranged neither randomly nor with a clear agenda but finding a space in between. Cleverly designed by the artist and beautifully produced, Words is a thought-provoking collection that provides a window to the mind of a contemporary creative genius. Table of ContentsN
£24.69
The History Press Ltd The Tragedy of the CongoOcean Railroad
Book Synopsis''Masterful'' The EconomistThe Congo-Océan railroad stands as one of the deadliest construction projects in history. It was completed in 1934, when Equatorial Africa was a French colony, and it stands as one of the deadliest construction projects in history. Colonial workers were subjects of an ostensibly democratic nation whose motto read Liberty, Equality, Fraternity', but liberal ideals were savaged by a cruelly indifferent administrative state.African workers were conscripted at gunpoint, separated from their families and subjected to hellish conditions as they hacked their way through dense tropical foliage; excavated by hand thousand of tonnes of earth in order to lay down track; blasted their way through rock to construct tunnels; or risked their lives building bridges over otherwise impassable rivers. In the process, they suffered disease, malnutrition and rampant physical abuse, likely resulting in at least 20,000 dea
£15.29
C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd Greater Tigray and the Mysterious Magnetism of
Book SynopsisThis is an analytical history of the role Tigrinya-speakers have played and are still playing in the history of Ethiopia and Eritrea, from Tigray''s very ancient incipience to the origins of today''s tragically fratricidal war. Drawing from his huge corpus of publications on the Horn of Africa, Haggai Erlich sheds new light on major turning-points, as well as patterns of continuity. His history revolves around one key question: what was ''the mysterious magnetism'' that held (and still holds) Ethiopia together? Erlich argues that there is an ''Amhara thesis'' competing with a ''Tigrayan thesis'' on what Ethiopia''s political and administrative system should be, and that the region''s history has often rotated around the axis of struggle between these two visions. The Tigrayans, though a minority, have had their periods of domination, the last ending in 2018. In between these eras, Tigrayans have been marginalised and weakened, including as the victims of their own
£19.00
C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd The Maghreb Since 1800
Book SynopsisThe Maghreb - the region that today encompasses Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya - is a region apart within the larger Muslim and Arab world. Today the focus of popular uprisings for democracy and participation, it underwent long periods of colonisation and anti-colonial nationalist resistance, both peaceful and militant. To understand the nature of today''s developments in North Africa we need fully to appreciate the tumultuous history of the region and how its four discrete countries followed different trajectories, some marked by a continuity of social and political structures in both the colonial era and as independent states, while others were marked by sharp ruptures and violent struggles. These historical differences are still visible in the current era and tell us much about the societies in question. This short history of the Maghreb surveys its development from the coming of Islam to the present day, but with greatest emphasis on the modern period from the early nineteenth
£18.04
C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd Star and Key
Book SynopsisA lively history of an extraordinary island and the people who call it home.
£23.75
Berghahn Books The Herero Genocide: War, Emotion, and Extreme
Book Synopsis Drawing on previously inaccessible and overlooked archival sources, The Herero Genocide undertakes a groundbreaking investigation into the war between colonizer and colonized in what was formerly German South-West Africa and is today the nation of Namibia. In addition to its eye-opening depictions of the starvation, disease, mass captivity, and other atrocities suffered by the Herero, it reaches surprising conclusions about the nature of imperial dominion, showing how the colonial state’s genocidal posture arose from its own inherent weakness and military failures. The result is an indispensable account of a genocide that has been neglected for too long.Trade Review “The author impressively demonstrates that emotions can be the driving force behind cruelty and is able to portray the brutalization of ordinary soldiers, who ultimately also became ‘motor[s] of extermination,’ more clearly than previous studies have done. Fear, bitterness, and frustration in the face of military failures led to violence…Häussler’s work is an innovative, at times brilliant study that deserves a wide readership – hopefully, and thanks to the translation, now also in English-speaking countries.” • Central European History Praise for the German edition: “Matthias Häussler has produced a complex and highly compelling account of the unfolding of mass violence in German South-West Africa. His book includes a range of sources which other historians have largely neglected … or been unable to access.” • Journal of Namibian Studies “Häussler deals less with the causes of violence or possible racist program of extermination than with the conditions, factors and dynamics of a radicalization that ultimately led to genocide. In his differentiated analysis he is aided by a profound knowledge of the sources, materials from state, church and private archives in Germany.” • Historische Zeitschrift “This book was overdue. [… Häussler] successfully endeavors to expand the collection of sources on the history of this genocide, drawing not only on German administrative files but also on British traditions and a large number of private estates” • Militärgeschichtliche Zeitschrift “This study encourages further research on the relationship between emotion, racism, and the release of violence and is recommended to all those who are interested in processes of unrestricted violence in general or the war in German South West Africa in particular.” • H-Soz-Kult “Häussler shines with an innovative study …The book is recommended not only to all those who are committed to dealing appropriately with the Namibian-German past, but also to those who are directly involved in the ongoing bilateral negotiations between Germany and Namibia.” • The NamibianTable of Contents Preface Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1. Settlers, Herero, and the Spiral of Violence Chapter 2. The Strategic Horizon: Leutwein – Metropole – Trotha Chapter 3. The Campaign Chapter 4. Small Warfare and Brutalization Chapter 5. From the Regime of the Camps to “Native Policy” Conclusion Bibliography
£26.55
EnvelopeBooks A Sin of Omission
Book SynopsisWinner of The Sunday Times CNA Literary Awards. Shortlisted for the Walter Scott PrizeTorn from his parents and tribe as a boy in the 1870s, Stephen Mzamane is picked by the Anglican church to train at the Missionary College in Canterbury to be a rural preacher in Southern Africa’s Cape Colony.He is a brilliant success but troubles stalk him: his unresolved relationship with his family and people, the condescension of church leaders towards their own native pastors, and That Woman—seen once in a photograph and never forgotten.And now he has to find his mother and take her a message that will break her heart.In this raw and compelling story, Marguerite Poland employs her considerable experience as a writer and specialist in South African languages to recreate the polarised, duplicitous world of Victorian colonialism and its betrayal of the very people it claimed to be enlightening.Trade ReviewThe Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, 2020: It's a rare book that punishes the sins of the past with beauty, but Marguerite Poland knows the power of doing just that. Quietly, implacably, in writing that cuts to the heart of the matter, she draws us into the life of Stephen Mzamane, a young South African trained for Christian missionary work, eager to serve both God and his own people but hampered by conflicted loyalties and the entrenched prejudices of both society and the Anglican Church. Set in the late nineteenth century, the bells of Canterbury and the bells of Africa ring out a story of what was, what might have been, and what in some places, shamefully, still is. An important story, then, and a difficult one, but in the hands of Marguerite Poland, a story luminously told. +++++ The Sunday Times CNA Literary Awards, South Africa, 2021 Book of the Year: A wrenching, deeply felt story about Stephen Malusi Mzamane, a young Anglican priest, trained in England but now marooned in a rundown mission in Fort Beaufort ... battling the prejudices of colonial society, and the church itself. +++++ John Mbangyeno, Africa Now: An emotional rollercoaster-the astonishing love story of a man for a church, an ideal and a woman. Heart-wrenching. +++++ Reverend Thabo Makgoba, Archbishop of Cape Town: Marguerite Poland, as always, is able to use words to paint reality. She has written an incredibly moving and compassionate yet piercing historical account which both demands apologies for the sins of the past yet is also redemptive. +++++ Dr Sindiwe Magona, writer: I love the book and admire its courage, to say nothing of its skilfulness. The subject is painful. Reading the manuscript, I was driven to tears more times than I care to remember. I couldn't stop thinking: if this is what priests thought, why do we wonder Apartheid happened? It is horrifying but also humbling to see how, with the best intentions, we err and betray the very values we preach. Marguerite Poland is to be commended for writing such a revelatory account of societal attitudes. The book is fiction but is based on church history and bigotry parading as decency. This is a painful and humbling reminder that none of us is above erroneous judgment. +++++ Mark Gevisser, novelist and critic: "Poland is a worthy descendant of Olive Schreiner in her heritage and passions.
£999.99
EnvelopeBooks Postmark Africa: Half a Century as a Foreign
Book SynopsisThe intelligence and passion that brought independence to colonial countries in Eastern and Southern Africa was greeted with enthusiasm by many progressive Whites. Michael Holman was one of them. A Rhodesian student activist whose support for black independence frightened his own minority white government, he was inspired by the black unionists and political leaders he interviewed, and whose message he took to Western readers, notably through the London Financial Times. But as the years passed, their early ideals became increasingly corrupted, internally and by what Holman still sees as the misguided policies of outside donors. Now brought together into a single volume, Holman’s 50 years of reporting vividly conveys the hopes and disappointments of the post-colonial era.Trade ReviewAlexander McCall Smith: "If you want to see what a good man in Africa has done, read this book. It contains profound observations of real and lasting significance on virtually every page ..."; Malcolm Rifkind: "This book should be read by anyone who not only wants to know the history of central and southern Africa but to understand its people, black and white. They are a fine people and in Michael they have had an honest, articulate and worthy champion, as rigorous, objective and professional in this book as he was in his journalism as Africa Correspondent for the Financial Times. He has an energy and an eloquence in recording not just what he knows or has analysed but also what he feels to be the reality of his homeland's tragic experience both under white, colonial domination and the black-led governments that followed ..."; Ed Balls: "Africa has no fiercer critic and no greater advocate than Michael Holman. Passionate, sometimes angry but also caring and often hilarious, Michael Holman once again delivers his trademark combination of beautiful prose and compelling story-telling. This book is both a delight and a tragic tale of hopes still unfulfilled ..."; John Githongo: "Throughout his career as a journalist and author, Michael has been a rebel with a clear cause. He has a seamless capacity to get under the African skin, and a ruthless insight for sniffing out what's working, even though it may not look it, and what's an utter waste of time, even though no one else will admit. He has brought this insight and unapologetic attitude in his quest for the truth to everything he has ever done, on and for Africa. All of it is informed by a deep sense of empathy for the land of his upbringing, warts and all, and a biting sense of humour ..."Table of Contents1960s Letter, Bulawayo Chronicle, 10 September 1964 1970s Apartheid, Rhodesian-style, 27 August 1971 Letter to friends in London, 11 March 1974 Dr. Sithole's success story, 16 June 1974 Mr. Smith in the black books, 23 July 1974 Daniel Madzimbamuto, 25 January 1975 Ndabaningi Sithole, 31 January 1975 Last hide-out for the Tangwena, 6 July 1975 Letter from Lusaka, 8 July 1976 Ian Smith torturers exposed, 4 September 1977 1980s In search of the missing M form, 18 June 1982 The strains begin to tell, 6 January 1983 Julius Nyerere, 1986 Medicine too harsh, 15 February 1988 Kinshasa: As time goes by, c. 1988 Namibia, 16 November 1988 Don't trust those statistics, 14 December 1989 1990s Facing up to the ethnic issue, 26 July 1990 Between reform and more decline, 13 August 1990 Step ahead, leap back, 2 November 1991 A continent at stake, September 1993 Long snakes and short ladders,15 March 1994 Who, me? A racist?, 21 January 1995 Robert Mugabe's legacy, 1995 Apartheid and the power of rugby, 20 May 1995 Patensie, Eastern Cape, June 1995 Welcome to the Hotel Milimani, c. 1995 A hotel at the peak of its decline, 14 October 1995 The sultan's band, 7 October 1996 Harry Oppenheimer, grandee, 7 November 1998 2000s Ideas of luxury, 2 October 2002 From Gwelo to Soweto, 2004 Africa's Potemkin village, 20 January 2004 Lessons from Kenya, August 2005 When a crocodile eats the sun, March 2007 Oliver Tambo, 2007 Desmond Tutu, 2007 Beyond the Malachite Hills, July 2009 2010s The last resort: A Zimbabwe memoir, May 2010 Mandela: Conversations with myself, December 2010 Band Aid, September 2011 Africa is rising, 28 February 2012 Dambisa Moyo: Dead Aid, August 2012 The last train to Zona Verde, June 2013 Blue Dahlia, Black Gold, September 2013 Mandela's magic, 6 December 2013 Mandela obituary, 7 December 2013 Funeral circus, 16th December 2013 Investors in corrupt 'new Africa', 9 April 2014 A young continent, 23 December 2014 The World Bank fails to credit, 27 January 2015 David Beresford, April 2016 What's next for Zimbabwe? 6 October 2016 The struggle continues, 13 January 2017 Can a crocodile change its spots? November 2017 Robert Mugabe: creature of colonialism, September 2017 Zimbabwe's broken dreams, 13 July 2018 Robert Mugabe obituary, 6 September 2019 Counting the geckos, May 2020 Appendices Rhodesian cabinet minutes, 1967 Exemption Board hearing, 13 January 1977
£12.34
Canongate Books My Friend The Mercenary
Book SynopsisHe wanted a war. And, for his sins, he got one. James Brabazon was an ambitious young war reporter when he entered the chaos of the Liberian Civil War in 2002. Running with the infamous LURD rebels, he survived numerous deadly ambushes and a dramatic two-hundred-mile escape from Government troops through dense equatorial jungle. He even had a bounty put on his head. Surrounded by child soldiers, cannibals and ruthless rebels, Brabazon was accompanied by Nick du Toit, a South African mercenary with a dark past. Before long, Nick promised James the scoop of his life: a front seat, beside Simon Mann, in an audacious coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea. And the offer was too good to refuse.Trade Review'An outstanding memoir about the power of friendship in the morally complex theatre of war. James Brabazon is a fearless reporter and a brutally honest narrator. I couldn't put this book down. -- ANDY MCNABJames Brabazon has written a fully-adrenalized book about civil war, mercenaries and the tiny margins by which fate determines the course of one's life. He is not only a beautiful writer but an incredibly brave reporter, and this book reflects both brilliantly. I was also in the Liberian civil war in 2003 - on the other side - and I remember hearing that there was this crazy Brit who was running with the rebels as they advanced on the capital. Brabazon's account of an attempted coup by friends of his in Equatorial Guinea is a classic story of intrigue, greed and violence in one of the most dysfunctional countries in the world. -- SEBASTIAN JUNGERCompelling. * * Sunday Times * *Intriguing. * * Spectator * *Brabazon's book is alarmingly frank...it is a compelling insight into a devastated region that is the playground of rapacious warlords, western intelligence agents and opportunistic businessmen. * * Sunday Business Post * *intriguing * * Spectator * *
£11.69
C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd Burundi: The Biography of a Small African Country
Book SynopsisLittle known in the English-speaking world, Burundi is Rwanda's twin, a small Central African country with a complex history of ethnic tension between its Hutu and Tutsi populations that has itself experienced traumatic events, including mass killings of over 200,000 people. The country remained in a state of simmering civil war until 2004, after which Julius Nyerere and Nelson Mandela took turns as mediators in a lengthy, and eventually successful, peace process which has endowed Burundi with new institutions, including a new constitution that led to the election of Pierre Nkurunziza as president in 2005.After some years of modest progress Burundi's peace was shattered again when the president decided to stand for a third term in 2015. The tensions today are more political than ethnic but the country faces many other problems, above all the entrenched poverty which has seen Burundi designated as one of the most deprived countries on earth.Nigel Watt's book discusses the troubled political fortunes of this beautiful yet disturbed country which is now part of the East African Community. He traces the origins of its political crises, sheds light on Burundi's recent history by means of interviews with leading participants and those whose lives have been affected by horrific events, helps demystify the country's 'ethnic' divisions and follows the fortunes of the Nkurunziza regime.Trade ReviewA very accessible, empathic, and yet accurate book. Nigel Watt puts people and their experiences and emotions at the middle of his story. * Filip Reyntjens, University of Antwerp *This is a book about reality, an item in very short supply when people write about African conflicts. [...] Hope based on nice feelings is a non-starter in the nasty world of Africa's small wars. Nigel Watt provides the only picture of hope which can be realistically contemplated, that which bases itself on informed and uncompromising local knowledge. This is a book which should be read by all humanitarian workers and members of the international community involved in what are today coyly called "complex emergencies. * Gerard Prunier, author, From Genocide to Continental War: The Congolese Conflict and the Crisis of Contemporary Africa *Topical and action-oriented, can be read as an almost complete introduction for the newcomer to the subject. * Race and Class *
£20.90
C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd Who Killed Hammarskjold?: The UN, the Cold War
Book SynopsisOne of the outstanding mysteries of the twentieth century, and one with huge political resonance, is the death of Dag Hammarskjold and his UN team in a plane crash in central Africa in 1961. Just minutes after midnight, his aircraft plunged into thick forest in the British colony of Northern Rhodesia (Zambia), abruptly ending his mission to bring peace to the Congo. Across the world, many suspected sabotage, accusing the multi-nationals and the governments of Britain, Belgium, the USA and South Africa of involvement in the disaster. These suspicions have never gone away.British High Commissioner Lord Alport was waiting at the airport when the aircraft crashed nearby. He bizarrely insisted to the airport management that Hammarskjold had flown elsewhere - even though his aircraft was reported overhead. This postponed a search for so long that the wreckage of the plane was not found for fifteen hours. White mercenaries were at the airport that night too, including the South African pilot Jerry Puren, whose bombing of Congolese villages led, in his own words, to 'flaming huts ...destruction and death'. These soldiers of fortune were backed by Sir Roy Welensky, Prime Minister of the Rhodesian Federation, who was ready to stop at nothing to maintain white rule and thought the United Nations was synonymous with the Nazis. The Rhodesian government conducted an official inquiry, which blamed pilot error. But as this book will show, it was a massive cover-up that suppressed and dismissed a mass of crucial evidence, especially that of African eye-witnesses. A subsequent UN inquiry was unable to rule out foul play - but had no access to the evidence to show how and why. Now, for the first time, this story can be told. Who Killed Hammarskjold follows the author on her intriguing and often frightening journey of research to Zambia, South Africa, the USA, Sweden, Norway, Britain, France and Belgium, where she unearthed a mass of new and hitherto secret documentary and photographic evidence.Trade Review'[Williams] has done a fine job of marshalling new evidence and painting a vivid picture of a past era of Rhodesian colonists in long socks and white shorts, and of cold war politics played out through vicious proxy wars in Africa.' * Sunday Times *'Part detective, part archivist, part journalist, Williams schmoozed spies, befriended diplomats and mercenaries and won the trust of Hammarskjold's still grieving relatives and UN colleagues to get her tale. She unwinds each thread of the narrative with infinite patience, leading us carefully down the tortuous paths of Cold War intrigue.' * The Spectator *'A startling, meticulous, convincing book, written in the understated prose of a Scandinavian crime thriller.' * Simon Kuper, The Financial Times *'Susan Williams' fascinating book explores the unresolved issues surrounding his death in a plane crash in central Africa. With the help of her engaging and no-nonsense style - part Miss Marple, part No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency - we are led through the messy, ugly and secretive dark arts of decolonisation in a world of white supremacists and Cold War lunatics. Kids: don't try this at home.' * Times Higher Education *'This welcome, and highly readable, historical detective story sheds yet more mystery on the sad fate of Dag Hammarskjold, arguably the most significant and influential UN secretary general. ... What the book does very well, through extremely thorough research of an international nature, is to highlight the controversies surrounding the crash and the numerous investigations into it. ... this is an important piece of research. It should be read by all those concerned with the activities of right-wing politicians and businessmen and their links to mercenaries, intelligence operations and European economic dominance in the post-independence Congo; and by those concerned with whoever may have been responsible for Hammarskjold's death and the weakening of the UN.' * International Affairs *'This engaging book marks a concerted effort to explore the historical mysteries that shroud the UN Secretary-General's death. ... This is a fascinating, meticulously researched, and easy-to-read study of the events surrounding the episode.' * African Affairs *'Susan Williams' impressive probing draws together previously secret archived material and witness statements never before aired. The book is rigorously academic, with intensive referencing and quotes from expert informants, but it is also an intriguing whodunnit, albeit one with particularly sombre connotations,' * The Canberra Times *'Susan Williams has produced a compelling account from a monumental amount of historical detective work and encounters with an extraordinary range of personalities, some of them extremely shady.' * The Witness (South Africa) *'Fascinating book...' * New Internationalist *'Immensely impressive … Williams writes with clarity and knowledge, demonstrating a depth of understanding of this crucial period in the history of the UN.' * Irish Examiner *'Susan Williams' fascinating book explores the unresolved issues surrounding his death in a plane crash in central Africa. With the help of her engaging and no-nonsense style – part Miss Marple, part No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency – we are led through the messy, ugly and secretive dark arts of decolonisation in a world of white supremacists and Cold War lunatics. Kids: don't try this at home.' * Times Higher Education *'This welcome, and highly readable, historical detective story sheds yet more mystery on the sad fate of Dag Hammarskjöld, arguably the most significant and influential UN secretary general. … What the book does very well, through extremely thorough research of an international nature, is to highlight the controversies surrounding the crash and the numerous investigations into it. … this is an important piece of research. It should be read by all those concerned with the activities of right-wing politicians and businessmen and their links to mercenaries, intelligence operations and European economic dominance in the post-independence Congo; and by those concerned with whoever may have been responsible for Hammarskjöld's death and the weakening of the UN.' * International Affairs *'This engaging book marks a concerted effort to explore the historical mysteries that shroud the UN Secretary-General's death. … This is a fascinating, meticulously researched, and easy-to-read study of the events surrounding the episode.' * African Affairs *'This is an extraordinary story, narrated with clarity and devastating effect. Susan Williams is to be congratulated for shining a light onto a very strange and disturbing incident. The result is a gripping and astonishing read.' * Alexander McCall Smith, novelist, author of The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series *'Susan Williams' impressive probing draws together previously secret archived material and witness statements never before aired. The book is rigorously academic, with intensive referencing and quotes from expert informants, but it is also an intriguing whodunnit, albeit one with particularly sombre connotations,' * The Canberra Times *'Susan Williams has produced a compelling account from a monumental amount of historical detective work and encounters with an extraordinary range of personalities, some of them extremely shady.' * The Witness (South Africa) *'Williams has done remarkable research … to gallantly demonstrate that the UN, the Cold War and White Supremacy in Africa, directly or indirectly, caused Hammarskjold's crash. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of the Congo and decolonization; it is very well researched, lucidly written and provides an alternative point of view to a subject that Europe refuses to claim responsibility for.' * African Studies Bulletin *'The author's scrupulous research shines through this book's carefully argued narrative. … All the evidence she uncovers points to the Hammarskjöld plane crash being the culmination of an assassination plot—and put into current context, with Congo peace talks breaking down at the AU in Addis Ababa … it is a story that continues to unfold.' * Stephen Williams, African Business *
£17.09
C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd A Short History of Mozambique
Book SynopsisThis comprehensive overview traces the evolution of modern Mozambique, from its early modern origins in the Indian Ocean trading system and the Portuguese maritime empire to the fifteen-year civil war that followed independence and its continued after-effects. Though peace was achieved in 1992 through international mediation, Mozambique's remarkable recovery has shown signs of stalling. Malyn Newitt explores the historical roots of Mozambican disunity and hampered development, beginning with the divisive effects of the slave trade, the drawing of colonial frontiers in the 1890s and the lasting particularities of the north, centre and south, inherited from the compartmentalised approach of concession companies. Following the nationalist guerrillas' victory against the Portuguese in 1975, these regional divisions resurfaced in a civil war pitting the south against the north and centre, over attempts at far-reaching socioeconomic change. The settlement of the early 1990s is now under threat from a revived insurgency, and the ghosts of the past remain. This book seeks to distill this complex history, and to understand why, twenty-five years after the Peace Accord, Mozambicans still remain among the poorest people in the world.Trade Review'This concise book provides a brief though richly detailed account of this important former Portuguese colony in Africa . . . the writing is lively and provides some fascinating details'.
£19.99
Whittles Publishing The Girl Who Killed A Nation
Book SynopsisA shocking but true African story that will change readers' perceptions. Travel with the author to the South African bush in search of the teenage girl who caused the death of 40,000 of her own people in 1856. How and why?
£18.04
Oneworld Publications Africa: A Beginner's Guide
Book SynopsisVast, diverse, dynamic, and turbulent, the true nature of Africa is often obscured by its poverty-stricken image. In this controversial and gripping guide, Tom Young cuts through the emotional hype to critically analyse the continent's political history and the factors behind its dismal economic performance. Maintaining that colonial influences are often overplayed, Young argues that much blame must lie with African governments themselves and that Western aid can often cause as much harm as good.Trade Review"A very useful introduction…highly recommended." * Journal of Modern African Studies *
£9.49
Taylor & Francis Ltd Warfare in Atlantic Africa, 1500-1800
Book SynopsisWarfare in Atlantic Africa, 1500-1800 investigates the impact of warfare on the history of Africa in the period of the slave trade and the founding of empires. It includes the discussion of:: * the relationship between war and the slave trade * the role of Europeans in promoting African wars and supplying African armies * the influence of climatic and ecological factors on warfare patterns and dynamics * the impact of social organization and military technology, including the gunpowder revolution * case studies of warfare in Sierra Leone, the Gold Coast, Benin and West Central AfricaTable of ContentsMaps, Preface, Introduction: African War and World History, 1 Cavalries of the Savannah, 2 War in the Rivers: Senegambia and Sierra Leone, 3 War in the Forest: The Gold Coast, 4 Horses, Boats and Infantry: The Gap of Benin, 5 War on the Savannah: West Central Africa, 6 War, Slavery and Revolt: African Slaves and Soldiers in the Atlantic World, Conclusion, Notes, Index
£52.70
Reaktion Books Cairo: City of Sand
Book SynopsisCairo is a 1,400-year-old metropolis whose streets are inscribed with sagas, a place where the pressures of life test people's equanimity to the very limit. Virtually surrounded by desert, sixteen million Cairenes cling to the Nile and each other, proximities that colour and shape lives. Packed with incident and anecdote "Cairo: City of Sand" describes the city's given circumstances and people's attitudes of response. Apart from a brisk historical overview, this book focuses on the present moment of one of the world's most illustrious and irreducible cities. Cairo steps inside the interactions between Cairenes, examining the roles of family, tradition and bureaucracy in everyday life. The book explores Cairo's relationship with its 'others', from the French and British occupations to modern influences like tourism and consumerism. "Cairo" also discusses characteristic styles of communication, and linguistic memes, including slang, grandiloquence, curses and jokes. Cairo exists by virtue of these interactions, synergies of necessity, creativity and the presence or absence of power. "Cairo: City of Sand" reveals a peerless balancing act, and transmits the city's overriding message: the breadth of the human capacity for loss, astonishment and delight.Trade Reviewa magnificent, multidimensional, eloquent and, above all, intelligent portrait of one of the world's most enigmatic places. Sunday Times packed full of observations of enduring worth ... She writes with wit, immediacy, intimacy and humor. Times Literary Supplement I was half way through Golia's book when the enormity of the challenges faced by the ordinary Cairene ... struck me, a Cairene, full force. Al-Ahram Weekly, Cairo Is it possible for a foreigner living in Cairo, even for many years, to know the soul of this city? ... you will be astonished when you read Maria Golia's book. Sabah El-Kher magazine, Cairo the extent of Golia's insider status really shows ... not just regarding matters specific to Cairo, but to matters of Egyptian-ness in general. Beirut Daily Star astonishingly astute, skillfully critical and deeply empathetic. Daily Star, Egypt written with compassion and understanding in brisk descriptions sprinkled with shrewd insights. Middle East Journal
£21.21
Helion & Company Counterinsurgency in Africa: The Portugese Way of
Book Synopsis
£23.96
Helion & Company The Flechas: Insurgent Hunting in Eastern Angola,
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£16.10
Helion & Company The Rwandan Patriotic Front 1990-1994
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£16.10
Helion & Company The Fuzileiros: Portuguese Marines in Africa,
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£16.10
Helion & Company Controlling the Frontier: Southern Africa
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£21.25
CRC For Sustainable Tourism Charles Leonard
Book Synopsis
£999.99
Daraja Press Revolutionary Hope Vs Free Market Fantasies
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£17.99
The Indigo Press These Bones Will Rise Again
Book SynopsisWhat are the right questions to ask when seeking out the true spirit of a nation? In November 2017 the people of Zimbabwe took to the streets in an unprecedented alliance with the military. Their goal, to restore the legacy of Chimurenga, the liberation struggle, and wrest their country back from over thirty years of Robert Mugabe’s rule. In an essay that combines bold reportage, memoir and critical analysis, Zimbabwean novelist and journalist Panashe Chigumadzi reflects on the ‘coup that was not a coup’, the telling of history and manipulation of time and the ancestral spirts of two women – her own grandmother and Mbuya Nehanda, the grandmother of the nation.Trade Review‘In a searing account that explores the heady post-independence days of the eighties, the economic downturn of the nineties, through to the effects of the land reform policies at the end of the century, Chigumadzi weaves together reflections on a nation’s founding spirit’ https://www.thedailyvox.co.za/these-bones-will-rise-again-is-an-intimate-telling-of-zimbabwean-history-shaazia-ebrahim/ -- Jennifer Malec * The Johannesburg Review of Books *‘Best summer books 2018, as picked by writers and cultural figures – part 2’ ‘an extraordinary and thrilling history of Zimbabwe’ https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jul/08/best-summer-holiday-reads-2018-philip-pullman-maggie-ofarrell-nina-stibbe-part-two -- Alex Preston * The Guardian *‘These Bones Will Rise Again reminds its readers of the complexities in the cultures of Africa . . . Panache Chigumadzi’s essay is a welcome addition to the new cannon of decolonised historical literature.’ https://livemag.co.za/book-review-panashe-chigumadzis-these-bones-will-rise-again/ -- Terry Simelane-Mathabathe * Live Mag *http://bookslive.co.za/blog/2018/08/27/i-wanted-to-interrogate-the-legacy-that-belonged-to-me-panashe-chigumadzi-on-these-bones-will-rise-again/ -- Rufaro Samanga interviews Panashe Chigumadzi * Okay Africa *‘By refusing to conceal the marks of its making, Chigumadzi’s essay lays bare the challenges of constructing historical narratives’ http://review31.co.uk/article/view/592/perhaps-she-was-this-perhaps-she-was-that -- Jacqueline Landey * Review 31 *‘Chigumadzi writes of her feeling of dislocation from the land of her birth having been raised in South Africa and her ancestral connection to Zimbabwe. Her sincerity to seek truth carries out beautifully throughout the book.’ https://www.thedailyvox.co.za/these-bones-will-rise-again-is-an-intimate-telling-of-zimbabwean-history-shaazia-ebrahim/ -- Shaazia Ebrahim * The Daily vox *‘the author has masterfully succeeded in providing the reader with a book that is a powerful ode to the various women, both great and small, who took Zimbabwe through its multiple phases of liberation’ http://www.rewritelondon.com/portfolio/book-review-these-bones-will-rise-again/ * Rewrite *‘Panache Chigumadzi passionately places her personal story, connected to the family history and the history of her nation, within a blend of Zimbabwe’s national mythology & socio-political turmoil’ https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/books/non-fiction/2019-05-02-these-bones-will-rise-again-breaks-120-years-of-oppression/ -- Bryan Davis * Sunday Times Books *Opinion: Mugabe Is Dead, but Big Man Politics Lives On https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/10/opinion/robert-mugabe-zimbabwe.html -- Panashe Chigumadzi * New York Times *10 Best Political Activism Books of All Time https://bookauthority.org/books/best-political-activism-books?t=h63snq&s=author&book=1999683307 * Book Authority *Panashe Chigumadzi ZAM Nelson Mandela Lecture 2023 https://youtu.be/LuuV1KFei-0 * ZAM Magazine *
£7.59
Double 9 Books A Journal of a Tour in the Congo Free State
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£11.69
Double9 Books Llp Principia of Ethnology the Origin of Races and
Book Synopsis
£10.19
Springer Verlag, Singapore African Land Reform Under Economic
Book SynopsisThis open access book offers unique in-depth, comprehensive, and comparative analyses of the motivations, context, and outcomes of recent land reforms in Africa. Whereas a considerable number of land reforms have been carried out by African governments since the 1990s, no systematic analysis on their meaning has so far been conducted. In the age of land reform, Africa has seen drastic rural changes. Analysing the relationship between those reforms and change, the chapters in this book reveal not only their socio-economic outcomes, such as accelerated marketisation of land, but also their political outcomes, which have often been contrasting. Countries such as Rwanda and Mozambique have utilised land reform to strengthen state control over land, but other countries, such as Ghana and Zambia, have seen the rise in power of traditional chiefs in managing the land. The comparative perspective of this book clarifies new features of African social changes, which are carefully investigated by area experts. Providing new perspectives on recent land reform, this book will have a considerable impact on scholars as well as policymakers.Table of ContentsPreface1. Shinichi Takeuchi & Kojo S. Amanor. “Introduction: Social outcomes of land reform in post-Cold War Africa” 2. Kojo S. Amanor. “Land governance, class and rural development in Ghana” 3. Peter Narh. “Traversing state, agribusinesses, and farmers' land discourses in Kenyan intensive agriculture” 4. Horman Chitonge. “Land reform in Africa: The governance of customary land in the spotlight” 5. Shuichi Oyama. “Shifting cultivation and land tenure reform in Zambia” 6. Akiyo Aminaka. “Politics over the land resource management in Mozambique” 7. Shinichi Takeuchi. “Land law reform and the state-building in Rwanda” 8. Teshome Emana. “Urban policy and state power in urban land commercialization in Ethiopia” 9. Chizuko Sato. “Land tenure reform in three former settler colonies in Southern Africa” 10. Lungisile Ntsebeza. “Land tenure reform in South Africa's former Bantustans: Reform or regression?” 11. Shinichi Takeuchi. “Conclusion: Community, chief, and the state,”
£33.74
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Africa 20252026
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£27.13
Columbia University Press Unstable Ground
Book Synopsis
£25.20
Indiana University Press Thomas Sankara
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThomas Sankara: A Revolutionary in Cold War Africa is one of the most fully realized biographies of a modern African politicalgure in recent years, and a striking portrayal not just of this fascinating and ultimately tragic states-man but of an entire political era on the continent. * New York Review of Books *This is an exemplary biography of an Africa president revered for his integrity and gift of inspired leadership. -- R. I. Rotberg, Harvard University * Choice *Table of ContentsAcknowledgementsList of AbbreviationsIntroduction1. Coming of Age in the Shadow of Colonialism, 1949-19662. Education of a Revolutionary, 1966-19733. A Rising Star: Soldiers and the Political Left, 1973-19824. From Political Prisoner to Populist Prime Minister, 1982-19835. The "Revolution of August 4" and the People's President6. "This Man Who Unsettles": Confronting the Neocolonial Order, 1983-19847. The Struggle for Unity, 1983-19848. "Daring to Invent the Future": Nation-Building and the Promise of Revolutionary Change, 1984-859. Politics is War and War is Politics: Sankara in the International Arena, 1984-198510. Revolutionary Duties and Perils, 1986-198711. No Turning Back: The Road to October 15, 1987ConclusionSelected BibliographyIndex
£25.19
Pennsylvania State University Press Black and Gold
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£25.19
University of California Press A History of Ethiopia
Book SynopsisA history of Ethiopia. It surveys the evolution of the oldest African nation from prehistory to the present.Trade Review"With remarkable precision and a sensible balance, Marcus has described the multiple and often contradictory and intersecting forces that have molded Ethiopia's rugged history. In his ambitious attempt to give a comprehensive account, he has paid considerable attention to broader social, economic, and cultural developments.... Marcus has given us a concise yet complete overview of Ethiopia's history." - Gebru Tareke, American Historical Review "That a country with Ethiopia's historical record should have been so neglected is astonishing, and Harold Marcus is to be congratulated on taking up the challenge...this is a valuable contribution to Ethiopian historiography, which provides a useful and much-needed overview of current knowledge." - Christopher Clapham, International Journal of African Historical StudiesTable of ContentsList of Photographs Preface Preface to the 1994 Edition 1. Beginnings, to 1270 2. The Golden Age of the Solomonic Dynasty, to 1500 3. The Decline of the Solomonic Dynasty, to 1796 4. Political and Economic Transformations, to 1855 5. Imperial Resurrection, to 1877 6. Imperial Consolidation, to 1889 7. The Defeat of European Imperialism, to 1897 8. Menilek's State, to 1916 9. Ras Tafari, to 1930 10. Haile Sellassie, to 1936 11. Haile Sellassie, to 1955 12. Haile Sellassie, to 1973 13. The Revolution, to 1977 14. The Failure of the Revolution, to 1991 15. The New Rulers, to 1995 16. Peace and War, to 2000 Epilogue Maps Glossary Select Bibliography Index
£27.00
University of California Press The Black Art Renaissance
Book SynopsisReading African art's impact on modernism as an international phenomenon, The Black Art Renaissance tracks a series of twentieth-century engagements with canonical African sculpture by European, African American, and sub-Saharan African artists and theorists. Notwithstanding its occurrence during the benighted colonial period, the Paris avant-garde discovery of African sculptureknown then as art nègre, or black arteventually came to affect nascent Afro-modernisms, whose artists and critics commandeered visual and rhetorical uses of the same sculptural canon and the same term. Within this trajectory, black art evolved as a framework for asserting control over appropriative practices introduced by Europeans, and it helped forge alliances by redefining concepts of humanism, race, and civilization. From the Fauves and Picasso to the Harlem Renaissance, and from the work of South African artist Ernest Mancoba to the imagery of Negritude and the École de Dakar, African sculpture's influence proved transcontinental in scope and significance. Through this extensively researched study, Joshua I. Cohen argues that art history's alleged centers and margins must be conceived as interconnected and mutually informing. The Black Art Renaissance reveals just how much modern art has owed to African art on a global scale.Table of ContentsPrologue Acknowledgments Note on Terms Introduction 1. Rethinking Fauve “Primitivism” 2. Picasso’s African Infl uences 3. Harlem Renaissance and Diaspora 4. Mancoba between Paradigms 5. Art Nègre and the École de Dakar Epilogue: Was Picasso “Black”? Archive Abbreviations Notes Selected Bibliography List of Illustrations Index
£34.20
University of California Press The Geometries of Afro Asia Art beyond
Book SynopsisTrade Review"A reformulation in which ‘Afro’ and ‘Asia’ are loosed to orbit and collide with one another in new ways, presenting nuanced and timely approaches to exchange. . . . Kee’s rich interpretive geometry is a fractal that arcs towards the future." * ArtReview *"Wide-ranging and meticulously compiled, the volume examines artworks from the past century that push our conceptions of Afro Asia beyond the confines of identity and regionalism currently in institutional vogue." * ArtForum *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction 1. Coincident Intensities: Friendship, Comparison, and the Afro Asian Body 2. Angles of Incidence: Interracial Encounters of a Photographic Kind 3. Integral Tangents: Black Arts of Asia 4. Adjacent and Parallel: Planes of Collaboration 5. Circling Afro China: The New Global Majority List of Illustrations Notes Index
£27.00
Harvard University Press Death in the Congo
Book SynopsisMore than 50 years later the murky circumstances and tragic symbolism of Patrice Lumumba's assassination trouble people around the world. Emmanuel Gerard and Bruce Kuklick reveal a tangled web of international politics in which many peopleblack and white, well-meaning or ruthless, African, European, and Americanbear responsibility for this crime.Trade ReviewIn Death in the Congo: Murdering Patrice Lumumba, Emmanuel Gerard and Bruce Kuklick open a wide aperture onto one of the most charged historical whodunits of the 20th century… It lays bare the entangled international actors that conspired to seal Lumumba’s fate and that of the independent Congolese nation… Death in the Congo is a riveting account. -- Caroline Elkins * Wall Street Journal *Death in the Congo is history for grown-ups, lucid and unsparing, alert to our infinite capacity for deceit and self-deception. -- John Wilson * Chicago Tribune *The story of Patrice Lumumba’s death is fascinating because it seems emblematic of the Cold War–era decolonization of Africa… What is distinctive and new in this very readable account is the authors’ unrelentingly negative portraits of all the actors involved. No one emerges unscathed: not the bumbling Congolese, not the Cold War-crazed Americans, not the petulant Europeans—and, worst of all, not even Lumumba himself, whom Gerard and Kuklick portray as a gifted speaker but also a self-promoter who was generally clueless about the exercise of power. -- Nicolas van de Walle * Foreign Affairs *While political violence is no stranger to the Congo, what happened to Lumumba in the early 1960s still matters… To this day no one has been prosecuted for Lumumba’s death. And this is where a book as calm, clear and authoritative as Emmanuel Gerard’s and Bruce Kuklick’s Death in the Congo adds true value. Novelists and filmmakers have all had a go at the Lumumba story, but here at last is history-writing at its most powerful: a work that reads in part like a charge sheet for a war-crimes prosecution and in part like a Shakespearian tragedy with farce thrown in… The drama of Lumumba’s death makes a grand finale. But the book’s true importance lies in spelling out the roles of the various powers involved, notably America and Belgium. Individual prosecutions are now unrealistic, but Death in the Congo demonstrates (something Tony Blair and George W. Bush might ponder) that it is never too late to investigate political decisions that lead to manipulation and murder. -- Tim Butcher * The Spectator *[Gerard and Kuklick] have bravely taken on the most important and disturbing assassination of a democratically elected leader in modern times, and an event on a par with that of Archduke Franz Ferdinand for the mayhem and madness left in its wake… Rather than interpreting [Lumumba’s] downfall as the result of crude Cold War anti-communism, Gerard and Kuklick rightly argue that Cold War tensions were more contextual, feeding into a U.S. commitment to support Western interests and influence in post-colonial Africa; its sympathy for Nato and its Belgian secretary general; and the Eisenhower administration’s hatred of Lumumba. -- Joanna Lewis * Times Higher Education *[Gerard and Kuklick] have brilliantly and usefully provided fresh details about how Lumumba, Okito, and Mpolo died. The book offers revealing photographs of Lumumba with others, including President Joseph Mobutu of Zaire… A book about an old story that has new nuances and details for its readers, who should definitely include general readers, students still in search of the truth about the assassination, and, indeed, seasoned as well as amateur Africanists. -- Dawn M. Whitehead * Africa Today *Death in the Congo: Murdering Patrice Lumumba is an eminently readable and absorbing book by Emmanuel Gerard and Bruce Kuklick which examines the evidence in a balanced and coherent manner while examining the complex tapestry of the alliances, pacts, and promises that comprised relations over the Congo between Léopoldville (now Kinshasa), Brussels, the Katangan capital Elisabethville (now Lubumbashi), London, New York, and Washington… A thought-provoking work of history. -- Alanna O’Malley * H-Net Reviews *Death in the Congo captures a striking portrait of an international crisis in the early Cold War caused by one post-colonial nationalist’s rise to power. It meticulously details the way Patrice Lumumba was subsequently ousted and how his murder was encouraged by western powers. In many ways, it is a character study of the political leaders who instigated and backed Lumumba’s murder and the men in the lower ranks who carried it out. -- Neil Thompson * International Affairs *Outstanding… This major work of scholarship succeeds in showing how the convergence of a complex mix of interests and motivations resulted in Lumumba’s murder. -- Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja * Journal of American History *The authors provide wealth of detail in this worthy primer to the events that plunged the nation into decades of dictatorship under Joseph Mobuto (Mobutu Sese Seko). * Publishers Weekly *Emmanuel Gerard and Bruce Kuklick shed light on an important episode in the annals of decolonization, the Cold War, and African nationalism, as well as on significant aspects of the domestic politics of Belgium and the United States. Death in the Congo is a welcome contribution to our understanding of the darker side of decision-making in ostensibly open and democratic political systems. -- Edouard Bustin, Boston University, Emeritus
£29.66
Princeton University Press Africas Struggle for Its Art
Book SynopsisTrade Review"A New Yorker Best Book of the Year""[This] revelatory new book charts the course of an all-but-forgotten movement. . . . [Savoy’s] investigation yields a riveting scholarly whodunnit that doubles as a timely warning."---Julian Lucas, New Yorker"[A] ground-breaking book."---Dan Hicks, Hyperallergic"A fascinating account of lies and disinformation from European institutions in the debate against restitution. . . . Savoy’s deeply researched book marks a shift in tone from the many articles written recently on the African restitution debate . . . that erase African voices, focusing instead on the efforts of European intellectuals."---Nosmot Gbadamosi, Foreign Policy"A closely observed look at the resistance of European museums to repatriate artwork looted from Africa during the colonial era. . . . A thoughtful study in the ethics of art collection." * Kirkus Reviews *"An incisive and eye-opening history."---J. J. Charlesworth, Art Review"[Africa’s Struggle for Its Art] reveal[s] a vital understanding of the global story of struggles for African heritage restitution and its historical defeat. . . . [The] book serves as a warning that we have been here before and that last time we lost the battle. But it also serves as a kind of arsenal, to not fall for previous tricks, to expose old lies and to build upon what was already built by so many African and allies over decades."---Molemo Molloa, Africa is a Country"Africa’s Struggle for Its Art usefully charts the prequel to current campaigns pressuring for the return of colonial plunder. . . . This is a history that few of us know."---David D'Arcy, Arts Fuse"An incisive perspective."---Tobias Carroll, Inside Hook"Savoy has . . . made a significant move towards the final decolonisation of European museums and impacting the African nations into not only setting up new museums but also ratifying laws that focus on the protection of their cultural heritage. Hopefully, her book will also influence and shape the larger global conversations on the subject to counter the ridiculous argument of the western nations that such art objects now form an integral part of their own heritage."---Shelley Walia, Frontline"Africa’s Struggle for Its Art, a highly readable and meticulously researched overview of the cultural-restitution debate in Europe. . . . A fascinating and highly recommended read for anyone interested in an often overlooked dynamic that continues to influence North–South relations." * Survival *
£22.50
Princeton University Press Capitalism in the Colonies
Book Synopsis
£35.70
Pluto Press Africas Last Colonial Currency
Book SynopsisHow the CFA Franc enabled France to continue its colonies in AfricaTrade Review'For decades, the CFA Franc question has been, for the elite of Francophone Africa, more than a mere taboo subject, a sort of shameful wound. Tongues are starting to loosen, and this book comes at a perfect time' -- Boubacar Boris Diop, Senegalese novelist and essayist'A masterpiece that uncovers, in wonderful detail, the neo-colonial politics behind the CFA Franc. It makes a passionate, convincing case for dismantling the CFA Franc, and will become a classic study in how monetary relationships are intertwined with power and national interest' -- Professor Daniela Gabor, Professor of Economics and Macro-Finance, University of the West of England'An impressive read' -- Arndt Hopfmann, Senior Advisor on Economic and Trade Policy at the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation'This book makes the CFA Franc's role in the perpetuation of French neo-colonialism in Africa all too visible - thereby adding to the arsenal of knowledge for the decolonization of Africa and African development' -- Anthony Victor Obeng, author of 'Decolonizing Africa and African Development: The Twenty-First Century Pan Africanist Challenge' (Peter Lang AG, 2016)'A fascinating inquiry' -- Olivette Otele, historian, author of 'African Europeans: An Untold History' (Hurst, 2020)'A must read that engages the political economy of the post-colony by taking us back to where it all started: from De Gaulle's neo-colonial independence to Macron's fake colonial currency, showing that the transition is simply imperial domination par excellence' -- Ibrahim Abdullah, Professor of History at Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone'Excellent ... it exposes the reality behind that 'invisible weapon' used by France to continue to influence the fate of its former colonies' -- Demba Moussa Dembele, economist and co-author of 'Ending Africa's Monetary Servitude: Who Profits from the CFA Franc?''An excellent book showing that a common currency area between an advanced and a backward region is a mechanism for perpetuating the latter's backwardness and making its products available cheap for the former. A must read for students of development' -- Prabhat Patnaik, Professor Emeritus, Jawaharlal Nehru University'A brilliant book which will be a highly efficient weapon in the fight for the financial sovereignty of the African States and the complete abolition of the CFA' -- Jean Ziegler, Former Professor of Sociology at the University of Geneva and the Sorbonne, Paris and former Vice-President of the Advisory Committee to the United Nations Human Rights Council'A scathing critique of France's most powerful colonial tool in Africa, revealing a radical, yet practical alternative path for African economic and monetary sovereignty' -- Fadhel Kaboub, President of the Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity‘Addresses one factor most experts overlook … Pigeaud and Sylla make the case that preservation of the CFA has been an overlooked but crucial motivation for France’ -- ‘The New York Review of Books’‘A crystal-clear dissection of a purposefully opaque economic system … at once exposé, history, and economics explainer’ -- ‘Society and Space’‘An immensely important contribution’ -- ‘Brave New Europe’‘Demolishing the shallow rhetoric surrounding the CFA system, the authors are excellent guides to its political, diplomatic and technical history … offering a book that will be particularly of interest to economic historians, postcolonial theorists and political scientists’ -- ‘LSE Review of Books’Table of ContentsForeword by William F. Mitchell Map Introduction 1. A Currency at the Service of the ‘Colonial Pact’ 2. The CFA System 3. Resistance and Reprisal 4. France in Command 5. At the Service of the Françafrique 6. An Obstacle to Development 7. An Unsustainable Status Quo Epilogue Postface Notes Index
£18.99
Pluto Press Economic and Monetary Sovereignty in 21st Century
Book SynopsisThe story of how African societies are resisting financial dependency and colonial legaciesTrade Review‘A timely and engaging book using the lens of monetary sovereignty to analyze the African continent’s economic challenges. A must read’ -- Stephanie Kelton, Professor, Stonybrook University, and author of the New York Times Bestseller 'The Deficit Myth''Opens the canvas to reflect on the economic and monetary dependence of the entire continent, picking up the unfinished business of economic and financial decolonization, updating it empirically and conceptually right up to the present conjuncture of the Covid- 19 pandemic, which has further exposed inequalities' -- Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni, Professor and Chair of Epistemologies of the Global South at the University of Bayreuth'A fresh and innovative view on Africa's entanglement in the world's financial and monetary system. Its point of departure - that Africa has long been a part of global finance - is absolutely necessary if we are to understand the future trajectory of Africa's political economy' -- Randall Germain is Professor of Political Science at Carleton University'A valuable volume addressing the specific challenges and limitations of monetary policy in Africa today - it is a treasure trove of information, and a truly invaluable resource' -- Alfredo Saad Filho, King's College London'Insightful and diverse, it is crucial reading for anyone wanting to understand and engage with the theoretical and political debates about sovereignty and subordination in Africa' -- Ingrid Kvangraven, Lecturer in the Department of International Development, King's College, London‘A powerful addition to a growing body of work aimed at enhancing our understanding of the ways in which, through the vector of finance, a transnational power regime controls the key levers of policy-making in Africa and undermines efforts at winning economic sovereignty. Readers will also find in the book, plenty of ideas for mobilizing alternatives for reversing the programmed reproduction of dependence and underdevelopment’ -- Adebayo O. Olukoshi, Distinguished Professor, Wits School of Governance‘A timely and highly recommended contribution to the literature with well researched case studies and deep historical, theoretical and policy insights into the issue’ -- Howard Stein, Professor at the Department of Afroamerican and African Studies, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor'Powerful and brilliant. A judicious amalgamation of Africa’s past and present economic experiences’ -- Redge Nkosi, Executive Director and Head of Research in Money, Banking and Macroeconomics at Firstsource Money, Johannesburg'The baneful legacy of colonialism in Africa can also be found in the realm of money and finance. African countries are struggling to free themselves from the clutches of core countries of global finance as well as from the multilateral organisations. This collected volume draws a complex and rich picture of the African struggle for economic and monetary sovereignty' -- Costas Lapavitsas, Professor of Economics, SOAS, University of London'Sovereignty in the meaning of independence from imperial domination beyond state sovereignty is very much part of the alternative discourse. Much is talked about such concepts as food sovereignty, sovereign national project. But little is said about monetary and fiscal sovereignty, yet it lies at the heart of any modern sovereign project. This book admirably fills the gap. I welcome it and urge all involved with crafting alternative paths of development in Africa and elsewhere in the Global South to read it' -- Issa Shivji, Professor Emeritus at the University of Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaTable of ContentsForeword - Prabhat Patnaik Introduction - By the editors Part I: The contemporary global economic and monetary order 1. China’s Finance and Africa’s Economic and Monetary Sovereignty - Radhika Desai Part II: Challenges to monetary sovereignty in the postcolonial periphery 2. Banking, Business, and Sovereignty in Sudan (1956–2019) - Harry Cross 3. Money, Finance, and Capital Accumulation in Zimbabwe - Francis Garikayi 4. Monetary Policy in Algeria (1999–2019): An economic and monetary history approach - Fatiha Talahite Part III: Increasing sovereignty through monetary unions? 5. The West African CFA Franc Zone as a Double Monetary Union: Loss of economic competitiveness and anti-developmental path-dependencies - Carla Coburger 6. The CFA Franc Under Neoliberal Monetary Policy: A labour-focused approach - Hannah Cross 7. From Central Bank Independence to Government Dependence: Monetary colonialism in the Eurozone - Thomas Fazi 8. Geopolitics of Finance in Africa: Birth of financial centres, not monetary unions - Elizabeth Cobbett Part IV: Alternatives 9. The Great Paradox: Liberalism Destroys the Market Economy: The pitfalls of the neoliberal recipe forAfrican economic and monetary sovereignty - Heiner Flassbeck 10. Food Sovereignty, the National Question, and Post-colonial Development in Africa - Max Ajl 11. Being Poor in the Current Monetary System: Implications of foreign exchange shortage for African economies and possible solutions - Anne Löscher 12. The German Push for Local Currency Bond Markets in African Countries: A pathway to economic sovereignty or increased economic dependency? - Frauke Banse Notes on Editors Notes on Contributors Index
£18.99
Duke University Press Specters of the Atlantic
Book SynopsisIn September 1781, the captain of the British slave ship Zong ordered 133 slaves thrown overboard, enabling the ship’s owners to file an insurance claim for their lost “cargo.” Accounts of this horrific event quickly became a staple of abolitionist discourse on both sides of the Atlantic. Ian Baucom revisits, in unprecedented detail, the Zong atrocity, the ensuing court cases, reactions to the event and trials, and the business and social dealings of the Liverpool merchants who owned the ship. Drawing on the work of an astonishing array of literary and social theorists, including Walter Benjamin, Giovanni Arrighi, Jacques Derrida, and many others, he argues that the tragedy is central not only to the trans-Atlantic slave trade and the political and cultural archives of the black Atlantic but also to the history of modern capital and ethics. To apprehend the Zong tragedy, Baucom suggests, is not to come to terms with an isolated atrocity but tTrade Review“Specters of the Atlantic is quite possibly the most provocative scholarly work I have read in a decade. I really cannot praise this book enough.”—Mary Poovey, author of A History of the Modern Fact: Problems of Knowledge in the Sciences of Wealth and Society“A fantastically stimulating read, Specters of the Atlantic will be an extremely significant book. Its core strength is that it deals in such detail and in such an imaginative way with the primary texts associated with the case of the Zong. Nobody has read those texts in such a careful and stimulating way before, and nobody has used the case to construct such an ambitious historical schema.”—Peter Hulme, author of Remnants of Conquest: The Island Caribs and Their Visitors, 1877–1998“This work is a compelling study of the roles of slavery and abolition in the origins of finance capital in the British Atlantic empire. The work is an interdisciplinary tour de force, with superb scholarship on slavery, modernity, the Enlightenment, postmodernism and contemporary literary theory. It is one of the finest comparative studies of the philosophy of history and liberation struggles that I have read.” -- Charles C. Verharen * Interventions *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Part One: “Now Being”: Slavery, Speculation, and the Measure of our Time 1. Liverpool, a Capital of the Long Twentieth Century 3 2. “Subject $”; or, the “Type” of the Modern 35 3. “Madam Death! Madam Death!”:Credit, Insurance, and the Atlantic Cycle of Capital Accumulation 80 4.”Signum Rememorativum, Demonstrativum, Prognostikon”: Modernity and the Truth Event 113 5.”Please decide”: The Singular and the Speculative 141 Part Two: Specters of the Atlantic: Slavery and the Witness 6. Frontispiece: Testimony, Rights, and the State of Exception 173 7. The View from the Window: Sympathy, Melancholy, and the Problem of “Humanity” 195 8. The Fact of History: On Cosmopolitan Interestedness 213 9. The Imaginary Resentment of the Dead: A Theory of Melancholy Sentiment 242 10. “To Tumble into It, and Gasp for Breath as We Go Down”: The Idea of Suffering and the Case of Liberal Cosmopolitanism 265 11. This/Such, for Instance: The Witness against “History” 297 Part Three: “The Sea is History” 12. “The Sea is History”: On Temporal Accumulation 309 Notes 335 Index 377
£22.79
Duke University Press SelfDevouring Growth
Book SynopsisUnder capitalism, economic growth is seen as the key to collective well-being. In Self-Devouring Growth Julie Livingston upends this notion, showing that while consumption-driven growth may seem to benefit a particular locale, it produces a number of unacknowledged, negative consequences that ripple throughout the wider world. Structuring the book as a parable in which the example of Botswana has lessons for the rest of the globe, Livingston shows how fundamental needs for water, food, and transportation become harnessed to what she calls self-devouring growth: an unchecked and unsustainable global pursuit of economic growth that threatens catastrophic environmental destruction. As Livingston notes, improved technology alone cannot stave off such destruction; what is required is a greater accounting of the web of relationships between humans, nonhuman beings, plants, and minerals that growth entails. Livingston contends that by failing to understand these relationships and the cTrade Review“Highly engaging, deeply thoughtful, and beautifully written, Self-Devouring Growth helps us to understand the environmental dangers the planet faces not as something to be avoided or prevented, but as something to expect and to live through. Julie Livingston's thinking about environmental and other futures is a breath of fresh air and cuts across stale debates around economic development and environmental sustainability in a very original way.” -- James Ferguson, author of * Give a Man a Fish: Reflections on the New Politics of Distribution *“Julie Livingston's concept of ‘self-devouring growth’ will become an essential tool across many forms of scholarship—and for concerned earth dwellers across the planet. As Livingston puts it, “GROW! is a mantra so powerful that it obscures the destruction it portends.” Self-Devouring Growth tells of the failure of Botswana's public water system, strained by failing rains and pumped dry by mining and commercial beef rearing for export. Regarded as a success of development, Botswana is the ideal site for a parable of the Anthropocene.” -- Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing, coeditor of * Feral Atlas: The More-than-Human Anthropocene *"Livingston has written a beautiful book, which speaks from Tswana cosmology towards the complexities of global problems, and that points towards forms of activism that we can all take forward." -- Shannon Morreira * Africa Is a Country *"An imaginative parable about human society and life on Earth. . . . The author notes that everyone cries foul when poorer countries achieve a standard of living enjoyed elsewhere, yet the global inequality reflected in this complaint suggests the need for collective creative thinking about new forms of growth for life on Earth to survive. Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers." -- E. P. Renne * Choice *"I find self-devouring growth a powerful and clarifying concept. I’m more accustomed to thinking about the climate change emergency through numbers, like the temperature beyond which the earth must not warm, or the number of tons of carbon we can safely put into the atmosphere. Instead, Livingston illuminates our way of life. She is asking a lot of the reader: she is asking us to understand that many of the things that make us feel well, prosperous, and secure are the very things that are killing us. . . . It is deeply unsettling to live with." -- Emily Callaci * Dissent *"Livingston has forged a path into an anthropology of futures, one responsive to and reflective of the Anthropocene and the threats to human survival we witness daily on our ever-more vulnerable planet. She offers methodological and conceptual tools that will enable other scholars to grapple with futures, those that are unfolding now because of self-devouring growth, and those we want to imagine differently. This book is for everyone." -- Sharon R. Kaufman * Medical Anthropology Quarterly *“I like reading Julie Livingston’s Self-Devouring Growth as a push against the consumption of modernist time—that is, against the suspension of historical flux, imaginative possibility, and alter-social development.... The book so convincingly dispels efforts to reduce the planetary condition to a matrix problem begging for technological solutions....” -- Alex Blanchette * Somatosphere *“It is a testament to the distilled clarity and prescience of Julie Livingston’s parable of a book that its title, Self-Devouring Growth, can strike one immediately as both so true and suddenly so evident....” -- Abou Farman * Somatosphere *“[Self-Devouring Growth is] a book that offers an elegant and important argument about industrial capitalism and growth that is devouring the world in which we live.... It is a book firmly grounded in critical medical anthropology, which has for a long time dug into the political economy of health and the structural violence of capitalism....” -- Fanny Chabrol * Somatosphere *Only Julie Livingston could write this book because of the sources, sensibilities, and experiences from which she draws.... [She] leads us to think about the biggest burning question of our common era: What kind of future is possible when our ways of living are literally invested in our collective destruction?” -- Juno Salazar Parreñas * Somatosphere *“Through the realist genre of the parable, this marvelous little book discusses an interconnected world organized by ‘self-devouring growth’.... This immensely readable book will appeal to a broad audience of academics, policymakers and practitioners in international development....” -- Tanya Matthan * Progress in Development Studies *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Prologue: A Planetary Parable 1 1. Rainmaking and Other Forgotten Things 11 2. In the Time of Beef 35 Cattle to Beef: A Photo Essay of Abstraction 61 3. Roads, Sand, and the Motorized Cow 85 4. Power and Possibility, or Did You Know Aesop Was Once a Slave? 121 Notes 129 Index 153
£17.99
Boydell & Brewer Ltd The Fante and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
Book SynopsisExamines the history of the Fante people of southern Ghana during the transatlantic slave trade, 1700 to 1807. The history of Ghana attracts popular interest out of proportion to its small size and marginal importance to the global economy. Ghana is the land of Kwame Nkrumah and the Pan-Africanist movement of the 1960s; it has been a temporary home to famous African Americans like W. E. B. DuBois and Maya Angelou; and its Asante Kingdom and signature kente cloth—global symbols of African culture and pride—are well known. Ghana also attracts a continuous flow of international tourists because of two historical sites that are among the most notorious monuments of the transatlantic slave trade: Cape Coast and Elmina Castles. These looming structures are a vivid reminder of the horrific trade that gave birth to the black population of the Americas. The Fante and the Transatlantic Slave Trade explores the fascinating history of the transatlantic slave trade on Ghana's coast between 1700 and 1807. Author Rebecca Shumway brings to life the survival experiences of southern Ghanaians as they became both victims of continuous violence and successful brokers of enslaved human beings. The era of the slave trade gave birth to a new culture in this part of West Africa, just as it was giving birth to new cultures across the Americas. The Fante and the Transatlantic Slave Trade pushes Asante scholarship to the forefront of African diaspora and Atlantic World studies by showing the integral role of Fante middlemen and transatlantic trade in the development of the Asante economy prior to 1807. Rebecca Shumway is assistant professor of history at the University of Pittsburgh.Trade ReviewShumway's work is important in that it expands our understanding of Fante's evolution over the eighteenth century and thereby develops a more thorough understanding of the causes and consequences of the rise of Atlantic trade along the Gold Coast. * H-NET *Offers an important new analysis of the interaction of Fante and European societies in the long eighteenth century. Such work has been long overdue...This is a significant contribution to the literature which all serious scholars of the subject will want to engage with. * ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW *This is a rich study, carefully conceived and argued. * H-AFRICA *[A] significant contribution...Shumway argues her case with an abundance of carefully marshalled evidence. * LUCAS BULLETIN *A valuable contribution to the history of modern-day Ghana. * ECONOMIC HISTORY REVIEW *Rebecca Shumway's The Fante and the Transatlantic Slave Trade is an elegantly written masterpiece of a crucial period in West African history when a coastal belt of European slave forts and African chiefdoms consolidated new forms of 'fetishism' and political economy. * ANTHROPOLOGY OF THIS CENTURY *This is a rich study, carefully conceived and argued. * H-AFRICA *[A] significant contribution. . . . Shumway argues her case with an abundance of carefully marshaled evidence. * LUCAS BULLETIN *A valuable contribution to the history of modern-day Ghana. * ECONOMIC HISTORY REVIEW *Rebecca Shumway's The Fante and the Transatlantic Slave Trade is an elegantly written masterpiece of a crucial period in West African history when a coastal belt of European slave forts and African chiefdoms consolidated new forms of 'fetishism' and political economy. * ANTHROPOLOGY OF THIS CENTURY *Table of ContentsIntroduction Selling Gold and Sellng Captives Fanteland in the Atlantic World A New Form of Government Making Fante Culture Conclusion
£26.09
Getty Trust Publications Balthazar: A Black African King in Medieval and
Book SynopsisThis abundantly illustrated book examines the figure of Balthazar, one of the biblical magi, and explains how and why he came to be depicted as a Black African king. According to the Gospel of Matthew, magi from the East, following a star, traveled to Jerusalem bearing precious gifts for the infant Jesus. The magi were revered as wise men and later as kings. Over time, one of the three came to be known as Balthazar and to be depicted as a Black man. Balthazar was familiar to medieval Europeans, appearing in paintings, manuscript illuminations, mosaics, carved ivories, and jewelry. But the origin story of this fascinating character uncovers intricate ties between Europe and Africa, including trade and diplomacy as well as colonization and enslavement. In this book, experts in the fields of Ethiopian, West African, Nubian, and Western European art explore the representation of Balthazar as a Black African king. They examine exceptional art that portrays the European fantasy of the Black magus while offering clues about the very real Africans who may have inspired these images. Along the way, the authors chronicle the Black presence in premodern Europe, where free and enslaved Black people moved through public spaces and courtly circles. The volume's lavish illustrations include selected works by contemporary artists who creatively challenge traditional depictions of Black history.Trade Review"This beautifully illustrated book on Balthazar, the African king believed to be one of the "wise men" who traveled from afar to acknowledge the divinity of the infant Christ, is a real gift. The range of related topics covered spreads out into the early modern world-the rise of African kingdoms as well as pertinent aspects of the slave trade-something readers today are looking for. The authors, experts all, know how to write concisely and to be enjoyed as well as impart insight."- Joaneath Spicer, The James A. Murnaghan Curator of Renaissance and Baroque Art, The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; "This gorgeously illustrated volume gathers together cutting-edge articles to probe the image of the Black magus in European art. As a marker of real historical contacts, imaginary kingdoms, and known Christian princes, the presence of the Black king at the scene of Christ's Nativity is here read within a diverse range of possible interpretations. The book's strength is its polyvocality: no one story is put forward to explain the Black Balthazar. Rather, it tells the complicated history of the early modern period, in which connections among a whole variety of sub-Saharan African communities and western Europe were on the rise. Balthazar: A Black African King in Medieval and Renaissance Art is required reading for those curious about how the past informs current debates about race in the West."-Sarah M. Guerin, Assistant Professor, History of Art, University of Pennsylvania
£33.25
James Currey The Oromo and the Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia:
Book SynopsisFirst full-length history of the Oromo 1300-1700; explains their key part in the medieval Christian kingdom and demonstrates their importance in shaping Ethiopian history. This revisionary account of the Oromo people and the Christian kingdom of Ethiopia transforms our perception of the country's development, rebutting the common depiction of the Oromo as no more than a destructive force and demonstrating their significant role in shaping the course of Ethiopian history. Tracing the early history of the Oromo as part of the Cushitic language speaking family of peoples, it establishes that they were neither foreigners nor newcomers to Ethiopia, but have been an integral part of the indigenous population since at least the first half of the 14th century. The massive 16th-century pastoral Oromo population movement revolutionized relations between the Christians and the Oromo. During the long process of assimilation that followed, with periods of both war and peace in central and southern Ethiopia, Oromo society was able to absorb and assimilate Cushitic and Semitic languagespeakers and Oromize them through the open, democratic and egalitarian Gada system; while in northern Ethiopia the Oromo themselves were absorbed into Christian Amhara society. Mohammed Hassen is Associate Professor in the Department of History, Georgia State University. His books include The Oromo of Ethiopia: A History, 1570 to 1860 (Cambridge University Press, 1990). He is a Contributing Editor of The Journal of Oromo Studies and The Horn of Africa journal.Trade ReviewIt is a fascinating attempt to write the history of a people who have for far too long only been viewed from the perspective of and in the shadow of a dominant Christian polity. * JOURNAL OF ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY *Hassen offers a history of Ethiopia that has a far different point of view than what other historians, both contemporary and modern, have presented. It is one seen through the eyes of the Oromo. * CHOICE *Table of ContentsEarly Interactions among the Oromo, Christian and Muslim Peoples: Traditions and Institutions Oromo Peoples in the Medieval Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia before 1500 The Homelands of the Pastoral Oromo before 1500 The Pastoral Oromo Confront the Christian Kingdom c.1440s-1559 Movements of Pastoral Oromo into the Christian Kingdom 1559-1600 Abba Bahrey's Zenahu Le Galla and its Impact on Emperor Za-Dengel's War against the Oromo 1603-1604 The Oromo and the Christian Kingdom 1600-1618 Oromo Christianization, Conflict and Identity 1618-1700 Epilogue
£30.24
James Currey From Rebels to Rulers: Writing Legitimacy in the
Book SynopsisA reinterpretation of the history of Sokoto that provides a new assessment of its leaders and their visions for the Muslim state. Sokoto was the largest and longest lasting of West Africa's nineteenth-century Muslim empires. Its intellectual and political elite left behind a vast written record, including over 300 Arabic texts authored by the jihad's leaders: Usman dan Fodio, his brother Abdullahi and his son, Muhammad Bello (known collectively as the Fodiawa). Sokoto's early years are one of the most documented periods of pre-colonial African history, yet current narratives pay little attention to the formative role these texts played in the creation of Sokoto, and the complex scholarly world from which they originated. Far from being unified around a single concept of Muslim statecraft, this book demonstrates how divided the Fodiawa were about what Sokoto could and should be, and the various discursive strategies they used to enrol local societies into their vision. Based on a close analysis of the sources (some appearing in English translation for the first time) and an effort to date their intellectual production, the book restores agency to Sokoto's leaders as individuals with different goals, characters and methods. More generally, it shows how revolutionary religious movements gain legitimacy, and how the kind of legitimacy they claim changes as they move from rebels to rulers.Trade ReviewThis is the most important new book on northern Nigeria's precolonial past that has come out for some years. -- Journal of African HistoryNaylor's study has bought some new dimensions to understanding the Sokoto empire through the texts written by its founders. The study not only allows one to understand the Sahelian territory but also helps to better map out the geographical, linguistic, cultural, and socio-political make-up of greater Africa. Naylor's study has reasonably succeeded in making accessible to the public a very specific part of Africa's history, which otherwise would have remained inaccessible. ... Paul Naylor must be congratulated for his contribution and bringing to light this much-needed volume. * Islamic Literary Society *Table of ContentsIntroduction The Arabic Writings of the Fodiawa in their Context A History of the Historiography Approaching Legitimacy 1. Sources of Legitimacy in the Nineteenth-Century Sahel Fiqh Kashf Nasab Conclusion 2. Discourses of Dissent and Moderation Laying Claims to Legitimacy: Usman's Writings in the 1790s A Discourse of Dissent (c.1804-1810) A Discourse of Moderation (1810-1812) The Intellectual Challenge of Abdullahi dan Fodio (c.1812-1817) Conclusion: from Ijtihad to Taqlid 3. 'Lesser of two evils': The Succession of Muhammad Bello Defending the Succession (1817) A Second Jihad (1817-1821) 'Fear them not, but fear me': Enforcing Obedience to Bello's Rule Creating a Caliphate: Bello's Exchanges with Ahmad Lobbo Conclusion 4. 'God has subjugated this land for me': Bello's Rule of Sokoto 1821-1837 Policies of Integration: The Hausa Policies of Enslavement Policies of Exclusion: The Tuareg Policies of Sedentarisation: The Fulani Meanwhile, in Gwandu... Conclusion Appendix: Sokoto Chronology Bibliography
£22.28
Wallach Art Gallery Partisans of the Nude: An Arab Art Genre in an
Book Synopsis
£22.50
