Africa Books

This book provides an excellent introduction to post-colonial West Africa. It is probably not detailed enough for a specialist, but for the average person looking to learn what happened in West Africa right after decolonization, this is an ideal book. The chapters are short and to-the-point, and the book reads quickly.

Schwab argues that the horrific problems plaguing West Africa today stem from the decisions that the first generation of post-colonial, indigenous leaders made. In particular, he laments that they failed to unite behind a common policy or ideology for independent West Africa (or at least failed to agree to live in peaceful coexistence). West Africa got caught up in Cold War politics and "conservative," francophile states refused to cooperate with "radical," socialist, Pan-Africanist states. And an opportunity for concerted effort was lost, opening the door for selfish pursuit of particularism, made worse by Cold War/superpower-motivated civil wars and assassinations.

Okay, that's Schwab's big picture. For those people not interested in Schwab's theory of West African decline, the book is still very much worth reading. The book provides a nice introduction to what happened in Senegal, Ivory Caost, Nigeria, Liberia, Guinea, and Ghana in the years after achieving independence. Schwab then ties the past to the present. It is an easy read and will familiarize you with the historical and present situation in western Africa.

Understanding the history and politics of Africa since the 1960s can be an overwhelming undertaking for readers who have never focused on this area of the world or those of us who somehow allowed Africa to slip to the far edge of our radar screens in more recent years. Peter Schwab's most recent book provides a well-organized account of six West African leaders from the time of independence of their respective nations to the end of their periods of leadership, along with an analysis of how each failed to fulfill the promise of those exciting days when African independence was bursting out on the world stage. Dr. Schwab presents an eloquent, well-balanced reading experience that sheds light on the personal strengths and weaknesses of each leader against the backdrop of the Cold War and the remnants of colonialism.

The introduction serves as an excellent overview of the rest of the book and provides valuable background knowledge on the subject. The occasional inclusion of Dr. Schwab's own direct experiences and observations personalizes the historical accounts for the benefit of the reader, as do quotations from other scholars and prominent African authors. The conclusion presents the author's beliefs as to who is to blame for the debacle that affects most of West Africa today as well as what he believes needs to be done to address the problems of this region.

Again, Peter Schwab has provided readers with a clear and well-written book on an important topic.

Professor Schwab has long provided us with sound analysis of African politics. While many have begged to differ with his conclusions, all have been charmed by his pithy prose as well as impressed by his solid scholarship and evident love for Africa and her peoples.

The present book follows in the worthy footsteps of its predecessor, AFRICA: A CONTINENT SELF-DESTRUCTS, by shining light on a the formative post-colonial period of the 1960s - a time little known in America - and presenting a "fair and balanced" assessment of the six most significant West African political figures of the period - William V.S. Tubman (Liberia), Felix Houphouet-Boigny (Cote d'Ivoire), Leopold Sedar Senghor (Senegal), Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (Nigeria), Kwame Nkrumah (Ghana), and Sekou Toure (Guinea) - and their influence, for good and for ill, on subsequent history in the subregion. While rightly criticizing the great powers for their Cold War-era conduct, Professor Schwab also courageously critiques the African leaders themselves for their sins of omission and commission. This book is an excellent introduction to West African political history.

The consequences of the malaise whose birth Professor Schwab chronicles can be seen by reference to the more detailed case studies, such those by Professor Amos Sawyer (THE EMERGENCE OF AUTOCRACY IN LIBERIA), Professor Adekeye Adebajo (LIBERIA'S CIVIL WAR), and Professor John Peter Pham (LIBERIA: PORTRAIT OF A FAILED STATE). The first, incidentally, was a former student of Professor's Schwab's.

Dogs of Africa documents the different breeds of dogs indigenous to Africa and the Middle East in an exhaustive and comprehensive study, where each breed is described in detail, from it's the history of breeding and it's physical and behavioural attributes in a way that only a dog lover could describe.

Illustrated with many beautiful black and white photographs.
Includes Pariah dogs, the Basenji, , the Israeli Canaan Dog, the Zulu Sicha, the Rhodesian Ridgeback, the Pharaoh Hound, the Boerboel, the Azawakh and Sloughi.
The history behind the breeds and the history of their breeding and origins are fascinating and describe much history of different parts of Africa and remarkable peoples such as the Zulu, Khoisan, Afrikaner and Israeli Jews, of which some of these breeds have been tied up with.
Learn of the loyal, gentle and protective nature of Boerboels, bred by the Trekboers in the 19th century, how when the Jews returned to the Land of Israel after two thousand years, their faithful old friend the Canaan Dog was waiting for them, and the ancient history of the Pharaoh Hound.
Find out about the good care taken by the San of their dogs and how on the other hand Muslims regard dogs as little better than filth, and for whom cruelty to animals is a way of life, and how this Islamic influence led to a drop in regard for dogs and a culture of cruelty in Southern Africa.

I really enjoyed this book. It is very interesting and well written. Lots of pictures.

Dogs Of Africa is an in-depth, 366-page encyclopedic study of those canine breeds that originated on the African continent. From pariahs, hounds, and southern African dogs, to sighthounds, mastiffs, and small pet dogs such as the Maltese Poodle, exhaustive and extensive descriptions are combined with black-and-white photographs, histories of the breed origins and their uses, and a wealth of information both practical and trivial, distinguish this unique and specialized guide which is especially recommended for dedicated dog breeders in general, and African canine enthusiasts in particular.

As a professional Wildlife Artist, my field includes painting, sculpture, and taxidermy.

This makes all of the "East African Mammals" series of books by Jonathan Kingdon an absolute necessity. The text gives a wonderful insight into the natural history as well as the historical ancestry of the majority of East Africa's wild children.

But even more, it is Mr. Kingdon's exquisite pencil renderings of the individual species as well as the structure of their musculature, that make these books so special.

These musulature drawings, in turn, are further enhanced by deeper dissection-like illustrations revealing the deeper muscle structures responsible for much of the movement and support for the mammal in question.

This volume takes us through the largest of the antelope on the African continent - the Eland, both Giant and Common, the Sable antelope, and both Kudu, Greater and Lesser - as well as the vast selection of East Africas' smallest antelope species. The Duikers, and Klipspringer, among others, are handled in all their delicate detail. Besides photos of these little antelope, these illustrations are absolutely needed in order to produce accurate renderings. I cannot stress enough, the importance of the anatomy that is revealed within these pages.

The books in this series are therefore especially indispensable to the Wildlife Restorer (taxidermist) as a guide to anatomy that we rarely get to see "in-the-flesh" as it were.

I can, therefore, wholeheartedly recommend this series of books to anyone who cares enough about their chosen field of art, to pursue all ends to collect as much reference material as possible.

These books are an excellent addition to the wildlife artists' library.

This is an excellent resource tool for anyone with a serious interest in African insectivores and or bats. The author provides detailed information, not found in most texts. The drawings are wonderful.

As a professional Wildlife Artist, my field includes painting, sculpture, and taxidermy.

This makes all of the "East African Mammals" series of books by Jonathan Kingdon an absolute necessity. The text gives a wonderful insight into the natural history as well as the historical ancestry of the majority of East Africa's wild children.

But even more, it is Mr. Kingdon's exquisite pencil renderings of the individual species as well as the structure of their musculature, that make these books so special.

These, in turn, are further enhanced by deeper dissection-like illustrations revealing deeper muscle structures responsible for much of the movement and support for the mammal in question. These types of drawings are especially fascinating in the Large Mammals volume, wherein the trunk of the elephant and the mouth structure of the hippopotamus are visually dissected to provide a greater insight into these structures, and their performance in the animal.

The books in this series are therefore especially indispensable to the Wildlife Restorer (taxidermist) as a guide to anatomy that we rarely get to see "in-the-flesh" as it were.

I can, therefore, wholeheartedly recommend this series of books to anyone who cares enough about their chosen field of art, to pursue all ends to collect as much reference material as possible.

These books are an excellent addition to the wildlife artists' library.

This beautiful volume of elegant photography can be viewed on several levels; a book of art, a fresh exploration into a society that continues to amaze, or - importantly - a tribute to perhaps the cornerstone to the cradle of civilization. A fantastic book which will need a coffee table of its own for years to come.

BEAUTIFULL , Simple , Fine work.

Thank You your works Herve Champollion

I, being an avid Egyptophile, own dozens of illustrated volumes on the subject of Egyptian art and architecture. But this book, Egypt, Stones of Light, is truly the best among them. Never before has the sublime and elegant stone of Egypt been displayed in such a gorgeous format, in their natural light. Diane Sarofim Harle's scholarly captions are very insightful and accurate, and compliment the images greatly. Everything about this book, the captions, the elegant photography, the accompanying text and descriptions, even the index, is done with great care and perfection. I cannot think of one negative comment that could possibly made about this wonderful volume. I particularly like how the photographer, Herve Champollion, tends to zoom in to charming and breathtaking details of the statues and reliefs, rather than taking generic photos of the whole work of art as most photographers do. Also the photographs showing the symbology of the columns and statues are quite exquisite. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys beautiful ancient art and astounding architecture. Bravo! Flipping through the dark, glossy pages of this volume, one can easily get lost, dreaming of Egypt.

Great service from the seller. African version of the Christmas Story. An africian-american coworker initially was offended by what she thought was a "white" attempt to make the story sound "black". When she read the introduction and realized the history and research that went into this story she recognized it as part of her "roots" that she was excited to pass on to her own children.

I first purchased this book 14 years ago for my nephew, and I'm back to purchase it for my daughter. It is such a gorgeously written version of the birth of Christ. It's just so lovely and heartfelt. I can't say enough good things about it. It became part of my sister's Christmas tradition with her children, and now it will become part of mine. I'm so glad I found this book again!

I grew up hearing this book (written by my great-grandfather) every christmas morning. It has become a tradition, all of the kids sitting at the feet of our mother as she read the story, her voice flowing over the melody of the words. Often we wouldn't understand a phrase, but she would explain it how her mother had explained it and how the author himself had lovingly explained it to his daughter, my grandmother. Not everyone who has read this book will have the experience I have had in reading it, but all the same, it touches the heart of everyone who has heard it read.

I find this book useful for numerous reasons but due to limited space, I will enumerate a few.

Africa and the developing world have been ignored by researchers and scholars, despite their wealth of resources. Exporting Communication Technology provides a detailed and well-thought out account of how social, cultural, economic, and educational factors account for the well being of communication activity in Africa.

The book also describes with clarity market dynamics and the expectations of policymakers, foreign aid donors and local entrepreneurs in managing social, cultural, and economic forces and in promoting development on the continent.

I like the author's ability to blend market/basic economic theories with his own ecclectic representation of communication theories.

I would recommend the book to a friend, book committee in a university, task managers in non-profit organizations, and especially, a policymakers in local and foreign governmental agencies that assist developing countries in realizing their long term needs

There is a resurgence of research on Africa, following a number of global events. As the author of this book rightly suggests, the "release of Nelson Mandela from prison and his eventual rise to power and the scramble for new markets in Third World countries" (pp. 1-2)are responsible for the global new interest.

Nothing has been more timely to Africa's economic emancipation than the bunch of constructive ideas propounded by Dr. Ngwainmbi.

That he uses communication, specifically information technology, as a model to describe Africa's educational-political-economic futures is rife, since effective communication itself has been lacking among African policy makers and even the fast-growing middle-class.

Among numerous logically sound prognostics, he stipulates that "parastatal agencies and regional services operating beyond national boundaries will increase business opportunities for the private sector with national and international shareholders competing to provide efficient services" (p.3)

Already, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and a number of international telecommunication agencies have been cooperating with many newly privatised national telecommunication cooperations to provide cyber information access and other services to the African population.

The timeliness of Dr. Ngwainmbi's book is infact a blessing to Africa's economy in general and to young entrepreneurs and telecommunication policymakers in particular.

As a Canadian interested in the development of Third World economies, I have found this book very useful. I think internet service providers, telephone equipment companies, and other providers of information electronics in the Western Hemisphere have to read this book, if they want to secure Third World markets for their products and services.

I find this book useful for numerous reasons but due to limited space, I will enumerate a few.

Africa and the developing world have been ignored by researchers and scholars, despite their wealth of resources. Exporting Communication Technology provides a detailed and well-thought out account of how social, cultural, economic, and educational factors account for the well being of communication activity in Africa.

The book also describes with clarity market dynamics and the expectations of policymakers, foreign aid donors and local entrepreneurs in managing social, cultural, and economic forces and in promoting development on the continent.

I like the author's ability to blend market/basic economic theories with his own ecclectic representation of communication theories.

I would recommend the book to a friend, book committee in a university, task managers in non-profit organizations, and especially, a policymakers in local and foreign governmental agencies that assist developing countries in realizing their long term needs

Eye of the Wolf is a very interesting book. It told lots of different stories which ended up coming together in the end. I liked how the boy closed one of his eyes to make the wolf not feel sad. I also like how the boy could talk to animals and had relationships with all different kinds of animals from camels to wolves and cheetahs. The wolf's story was sad but ended up happy at the end. He lost his family in the wild and then lost his zoo family, too. But the boy became his friend and helped the wolf feel better. I recommend this book for everyone!! (The illustrations in the book are terrific and capture what is going on in the story!)

I read the book in other language, i.e. Korean, and with other
illustration. However, this is a really beautiful story whatever language it is written in. There is an wolf who has been captured by men and put into a zoo. When he was caught, his one eye was injured, but he didn't mind because he decided that one eye is sufficient to see the sad, miserable world of men-to his eye, men are as sad and miserable as the captured animals in the zoo. There is a boy from Africa who stands in front of the wolf and look at him directly in his one remaining eye. He himself has been through a lat of sad incidents all over the Africa - in yellow, grey, and green ones. What do they see each other's eyes ? How does the wolf change his mind and accept there are something even in this miserable world worth watching with two eyes ? It's a so beautiful and poignant story (and I don't want to spoil your chance to find it^^), worth reading over and over again.

Africa has a story to tell, and so does the wolf he visits every day at the zoo. At first, the wolf is annoyed by Africa's constant visits to his cage. He wonders why he is there and what he is looking for, so he stares back at Africa, challenging him to leave and let the wolf return to his loneliness.

But by looking into each other's eyes, the two are able to understand each other's stories and recognize how their lives relate to one another.

The wolf's story is about the family that he lost-his mother, sisters, and brothers-and how he came to live behind the cage at the zoo as a sacrifice to his sister. Africa's story is about the loss of his family and his life as an orphan, a shepherd, and now finally an adopted boy with a last name. But when told simultaneously, the stories suddenly become about looking for home, about being needed, and about being important and meaningful, no matter where you are.

What a unique storytelling adventure! The meeting between Africa and Blue Wolf is an unfamiliar way to open a story, and the reader is almost tempted to set down the book. But soon enough, Pennac creates an interaction between the two that is magical and enchanting and that leads the reader into two dynamic worlds.

There is an unexpected depth to Africa's existance, and his mystical ways with animals is a brilliant contrast to the very human emotions of Blue Wolf. As Blue Wolf tells his story of daring rescue and escape, he becomes a powerful reminder of all that is beautiful in nature. There was no way to anticipate the manner in which all the characters come together in the end or the final power that Africa and Blue Wolf have upon each other, but it is fascinating, indeed. The language is specific and flows beautifully together as an extension of Africa's famous storytelling abilities.