Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #860875 in Books
• Published on: 1988-06-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 371 pages

Review
"Essential reading for an understanding of modern-day Africa" -- The New York Times Book Review
"A rare overview of the wild and frequently unreported developments on the world's second-largest continent... an intelligent and powerful argument for sanity and humanity." -- The Philadelphia Inquirer
"A primer for all of us who don't know enough about the Dark Continent...a fascinating and important book"
-- Playboy
"A thoroughly clear-sighted, honest book that provides a political and social survey of the 46 countries of sub-Sahara Africa. -- Business Week

Synopsis
Provides a memorable portrait of contemporary Black Africa, analyzing recent historical events, political maneuvers, economic problems, and the people, land, and institutions of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Customer Reviews

An excellent, well balanced overview of Africa
I read this book more than a decade ago and have to agree with the good reviews this book is still getting.

I was at the time pleasantly surprised to find a foreign journalist writing such a balanced account on Africa. When I read the book (in the mid Eighties) South Africa was still very isolated from the rest of Africa. This book gave me a window on Africa north of us and fascinated me. I always judge any media (newspaper, books TV, whatever) on their coverage of that with which I am familiar. If I find that to be well balanced and true, I will trust the rest of the material covering things I might not be familiar with. This book passed with flying colours. For example it pointed out the lunacy of Apartheid, while not hiding the fact that it was the only African country with a well functioning infrastructure, civil service etc

The book is neither left nor right. It gives it as it is. Indeed a very rare talent for a journalist. Lamb for example pointed out the world's hypocrisy regarding South Africa. The country was internationally isolated because of statutory racial discrimination and a lack of democracy. Yet the ethnic cleansing going on all over Africa on a grand scale was (and still is) ignored. There was (and still is) virtually no democracy anywhere, massive corruption, very little human rights etc, etc while nobody batted an eye.

That is tragically still the case. Africa is in bigger chaos than when David Lamb wrote his book, but still nobody seems to be willing to take a tougher stand and condemn African governments for what they are - useless.

He pointed out this *real* racial discrimination. South Africa was not allowed to run an undemocratic outfit because "white people can't behave like that!" Everybody on the other hand seems to expect the rest of Africa to be in chaos - "after all they are only blacks." I found this form of racism very relevant in the way the world interacts with Africa. Very few writers have this insight in where the political correct pseudo liberals lost the plot.

This is why this book is a classic and I still remember most of it, though I read it nearly 15 years ago!

informative AND easy to read
I read a lot of history books and too many of them are extremely dry. This book is what a history book SHOULD be like. It covers the history of many African countries but reads like a novel and avoids the usual slant that other history books have: the blame for all the problems in Africa is shared among several camps, not just the colonialists OR the Africans.

a slap in the face for those unfamiliar with african history
Like many others, I discovered this book while traveling in Africa. I was not very up on Sub-Saharan African history and the book was a huge wake up call. I have heard that this book is illegal to sell in Africa because it focuses on the harsh realities of corruption and all other unfortunate situations that have occured in the continent. I would hope that anyone interested in Africa or anyone at all would read this book.