Title and Authors of the African History Book
Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles by Richard Dowden.
Published by PublicAffairs in 2009, ISBN 9781586487539, 576 pages.
Review
This book is written by the director of the Royal African Society. Dowden has been connected with Africa since first heading out there in 1971 as a teacher. He worked as a journalist on African affairs for 'The Times', 'The Independent', and the 'Economist' -- this explains, perhaps, the largely journalistic flavor of the text.
The book is littered with personal tales and his own assessment of Africa's past. This means that this is not an unbiased view of Africa, but one written with passion and love. It is also a book written for a Western audience -- those who are aware of Africa, but limited in their view to the sound-bite impressions of a continent under siege from conflict, famine and AIDS. This book will be an eye opener, and I found it impossible to put aside -- constantly returning for another chapter (or fix) of African history and politicking. If you want to widen your knowledge of Africa look no further than this excellent book.
Lessons Learned
- Insightful
- Up to date
- Can be analytical rather than descriptive
- Is available on Kindle
