Africa Books

this book provides analysis of weak or failed states in Africa, based on thorough on the ground research and solid historical work. i bought it for my phd dissertation into democratization and violence, but its relevant for any comparative politics/historical work on Africa. precisely because its so well grounded in actual politics, it adds to some of the classic and recent theoretical studies on Africa, while remaining accessible to any one trying to understand what is happening.

In the midst of my research on timber Liberia, I was told that the only person who really knew what was going on in West Africa was William Reno, assistant professor at the University of Florida. When I called him to ask for information, he told me about the book that he published just this year. I tracked it down in the library, and was very relieved (after much fruitless searching) to find a readable and informative explanation of the politics of so called "weak states", along with four case studies on West African Nations. Reno's book provided by far the most comprehensive and readable explanation of the modus operendi of this region.

The first two chapters, entitled "The Distinctive Political Logic of Weak States" and "Africa's Weakest States After the Cold War", outline useful background information on the unique political systems in place in sub-saharan Africa. Reno does an excellent job of balancing his political theory with hist! orical examples. The next four chapters, which subsequantly cover Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and DRC (formerly Zaire), provide detailed analyses of the economic and political situations in these countries. Reno places the factions, the foreign business partners and the conflicting European vs. African interests in a solid context. On Liberia he writes, "The way we think about Liberia is strongly influenced by images of chaos and random violence.... In fact, war in Liberia has followed a clear logic. Warlord pursuit of commerce has been the critical variable in conflicts there. Stongmen have used commerce to consolidate their political power within a coalition of interest among themselves, businesspeople, and local fighters"(p.79).

Reno has combined information gleaned from his travels, dozens of interviews, and unique primary documents to provide a cohesive picture of the West African political system, a challenge of sorts to the conventional World Bank wisdom! that would have all "weak states" conform to its! idea of economic viability. He places in context the confusing behavior of rulers of weak states, with their tendency to avoid bureaucratic efficiency and free market enterprise, to the chagrin of first world observers. Reno writes, "Rulers who face threatening internal behavior intentionally cripple the arms of the state, which weakens the agencies that outsiders prescribe as the best means to mobilize resources to alleviate pressure form the international economy, such as debts, balance-of-payments imbalances, and instruments to enhance state revenues"(p.19). The behavior is necessary, he writes, in order to keep local strongmen in check. The conclusion that he draws from this may cause one to ponder; "The joining of political struggle and accumulation-- even as a violent Kalashnikov lifestyle of protection rackets, forced labor, and fencing of stolen goods-- is as much a candidate for a Weberian capitalist style of life as is a Protestant ethic or a Japane! se way of doing business"(p.30).

Rather than criticising from afar, Reno writes from the vantage of a frist hand observer. His ideas are provocative and well stated, valid for both the ignorant student (myself) and the seasoned researcher.

Drawing upon fieldwork in a number of troubled regions, Reno has produced a compelling and insightful examination of political realities within Africa's war-torn states. A valuable alternative to the more common hand-wringing and finger-pointing of most African political appraisals.

this book is so great to help introduce animals to children! I have already ordered the nect way far away books and cant wait to read them! High Praises!

Way Far Away on a Wild Safari is the third excellent book in Jan Peck's "Way" series. There is a reason these books were plugged on the PBS website. Jan's wonderful verse, and Valeria Petrone's masterful illustrations introduce little ones to reading, African animals, and rhyme. Do your child a favor and buy he/she all three of the titles.

Way Far Away on a Wild Safari is a cute read aloud story that would world well as a transition book for young children just starting out reading. The text is simple; the pictures are colorful and engaging, and just plain fun. Picture one adventurer, complete with pith helmet, one plate of animal crackers and a vivid imagination and you've got yourself a wild safari in the making! The text is just repetitive enough for younger children to be able to catch on and join in as the story goes on and when it's retold to them...because they WILL want it read to them again and again!

The age range listed on the inside flap is 3-6 but I believe that this is one of those books you can start early and read right up until about preschool age (so a range of 0-5) and that it's one that your 4-5 year old will come back to as he or she is learning to read, because it's familiar and fun. Additionally this book is a nice way to introduce African animals to your youngster, each is brightly pictured and even the lion is not scary, so great for young children in every way possible! I give it five stars, your kids will come back to this story time and again.

Thomas Sankara led the revolution of 1983 to 1987 in Burkina Faso is forgotten by many, but as the crisis of capitalist and free market counterrevolution wrecks the lives of Africa's peoples, he and his struggle will be remembered and the answers in this pamphlet will become life and death necessities. In the five speeches contained in this pamphlet, he explains how the peasants and workers of this West African country established a popular revolutionary government and began to fight the hunger, illiteracy and economic backwardness imposed by imperialist domination, and the oppression of women inherited from millennia of class society. In so doing, they have provided an example not only to the workers and small farmers of Africa, but to those of the entire world.

Right now, it is not only Africans who need a government based on working people and not the rich, but millions of us in the rest of this world wracked by war, economic, crisis, and a future that seems grimmer and grimmer each day.


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Young people throughout the African continent who are trying to find a way to combat the superexploitation of their countries by the various imperial powers of today often thirst for the speeches and writings of a revolutionary whose life was ended when most of them were children. That revolutionary's name is Thomas Sankara. He was the main leader of a revolution that took place in the West African nation of Burkina Faso, formerly the French, repeat French, colony of Upper Volta; the workers and farmers government he headed up was in power from 1983-87. This was the only Marxist leadership to ever hold power in Africa to this day. Giant first steps were made under this revolution in the liberation of women by the mobilization of women themselves; dam construction, irrigation, and reforestation projects began, spearheaded by voluntary labor brigades of the most politically conscious and solidarity-motivated workers and peasants; the revolution began to arm the people; and again and again, Sankara pointed to the Cuban revolution as the example for all Africa to emulate if Africa's efforts to develop and free itself are to succeed. As the Yankee Empire, in the first place, and French imperialism, in the second place, among others, increasingly use military ( "peacekeeping" ) forces to gain the riches of the African continent; as desertification and AIDS crises, fed by the rapacious "free market" capitalist system, continue to ravage sub-Saharan Africa, Sankara's words and example of revolutionary ACTION are more important than ever. His trenchant critique of both U.S. AND French imperialism are more needed than ever now, including here in the belly of the Imperial Beast, as well.

This is a selection of five speeches by Thomas Sankara, the central leader of the 1983-87 revolution in the west African country of Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta). The revolution was initiated in August, 1983, when a group of military officers seized power and appealed for support from the masses of Burkinabè workers and peasants. It ended when Sankara was assassinated in a military coup. During those four years the revolution proved to be "a movement of the immense majority for the benefit of the immense majority," as Sankara stated in a speech in October, 1983

The Burkina Faso revolution sought to educate and mobilize the masses of working people to work together to climb out of the social and economic backwardness that had been imposed on them by French imperialism. The revolutionary leadership organized the masses of people to lay the basis for economic development, to provide food, jobs and housing for all, to expand the accessibility of medical care and primary education to the great majority of the people of this very poor and underdeveloped country.

One major obstacle to progress in Burkina Faso was the degradation of women and the suppression of their capacities to work in all areas of social endeavor. The revolution strove to elevate women's status, to take major strides toward equality in all fields and to encourage them to provide leadership at all levels. As Sankara argued, "we do not talk of women's emancipation as an act of charity or because of a surge of human compassion. It is a basic necessity for the triumph of the revolution. Women hold up the other half of the sky."

The Burkinabè revolution mobilized millions in the campaign to counteract the southward spread of the north African desert. As Sankara explained, "ten million trees have been planted under the auspices of a People's Development Program lasting fifteen
months-a first venture while the five-year plan was being prepared. . . . Explained in this way, our struggle to defend the trees and the forest is first and foremost a democratic struggle that must be waged by the people. The sterile and expensive excitement of a handful of engineers and forestry experts will accomplish nothing! "

One week before his assassination Sankara gave a speech on the twentieth anniversary of the death of Che Guevara, the Argentine Marxist who helped lead the Cuban revolution. Indicating the impact of Che's example within the Burkina Faso revolution, Sankara said, "Every time we think of Che, we will try to be like him, to make this man, the fighter, live again. And especially, every time we think of acting like him, in the spirit of self-sacrifice, in the rejection of bourgeois wealth that tries to alienate us, in refusing the easy path, but also by turning to education and the rigorous discipline of revolutionary morality-every time we try to act in this way, we will have better served Che's ideas and made them known more effectively."

Dr. Peterside has done an excellent job with this very readable volume.
Wealth Effect takes a holistic approach to Africa's plaques.
The analysis is thorough, fresh and insightful.
Historical, cultural and psychological factors are taken into account, in trying to tackle Africa's monumental ills.

The author's optimistic tone is palpable, as one goes through this thought provoking book.
Hence, the solutions proposed appear within easy grasp.

Africa cannot escape its misery without changing its political culture.
It has been said that "states like men are built of character"
To paraphrase Mr. Lee the former prime minister of Singapore, Culture (character) is destiny.

Kleptocracy is not democracy. To paraphrase Fela kuti, a famous Nigerian musician, what we have is "democrazy."

In conclusion, the depth and breadth of Wealth Effect makes it a must-read for anyone interested in evolving Africa.

After going through this book, am truly impressed by the breadth of the author's grasp of contemporary global issues as it relates to Africa. Its also quite interesting to see how a wide array of thought-provoking questions, critical problems and policy solutions for the continent are compressed in a concise manner within this book - serious recommended reading for anyone who cares to know or desires to explore the so-called "final Frontier".

Wealth Effect is not only an important and meaningful book, it is a must-read for those who care to know about Africa's untapped potential, and its quest to gain a respectful presence in the global economy . The author does a brilliant job succinctly delineating the myriad of past and current problems, obstacles, and solutions to ponder. While it is very comprehensive, it is easy to read.

I was given this book as a graduation present when I left Malawi, the setting of the book, to come to university in America. I adore this book. The illustrations are incredibly beautiful pastels. The colors are fantastic and the people have wonderfully expressive faces. The story is sweet. I can identify with the main character because of my upbringing as a white child in Southern Africa. However, I think that the experience of moving away from home and being homesick is a universal one. For any child, being taken from a familiar to a strange situation is difficult. The only drawback the story might have in that sense is that the main character is able to return to Malawi at the end of the story. While that is hopeful, there are children who will not be able to return to their former homes or lives. For those children, this could be a hard book.

There are several examples of Chichewa, the national language of Malawi, in the book. All of the words are used accurately. The Chichewa words are not difficult for a parent or teacher reading the book as all of the words are pronounced phonetically.

My parents gave me this book for Christmas a few years ago, and, although I am a grown man, and I left Africa 15 years ago now, this book makes me cry, and want to return home. Like Peter, I'm a white African, although I'm a Kenyan. I miss Kenya, and even if I never get a chance to return, it will always be Home.

This book is a great gift for "third culture" kids, as well as for those trying to understand what it's like for kids to leave home and move far away.

My daughter and I were simply delighted with this book, and we are voracious readers of tales from foreign lands. For the protagonist, a little American boy born in Africa, Africa is not another place, a foreign country, but the home that he knows and loves, described poignantly through the eyes of a child. It is the USA that is foreign and strange to him, although he acclimates with a sort of resigned acceptance. I won't spoil it by telling the end; I can only say that I hope you and your children enjoy it as much as we did.

I have a soft spot for Dr. Hunt although I have not spoken to him in years. When I realized who wrote this book I grabbed it at once. It is fascinating to see what experiences lie behind his soft manner, dry wit and occasional ascerbic comment. There is also a streak of sentimentalism that I did not expect at all, but which is quite touching.

If you are interested in reading about South Africa or the adventures of a medical man in a nation under stress then I would highly recommend this very readable book.

I would give this book a gold star! John Hunt has clearly lived an enviable life, and his depiction of real world events in the emergency room at Baragwaneth Hospital is quite amazing and in many cases hard to fathom. If it weren't for the photographs, it would be hard to believe some of the events are true. For those with a real interest in South African history, and for those with a medical background, this book is top drawer. A quick read, you can finish the book in a few hours and won't put it down once you start reading.

This book is a riveting account of the author's 16- year experience as a white surgeon in Baragwaneth hospital for 'non-whites' in apartheid South Africa during the period1960-1976.
What he describes is "ER": for real - not an artificial TV series but an actual hospital in which devoted doctors and nurses dealt with real life and death situations, sometimes with wry humour, always with dedication.
Every page is alive with the gripping details of the surgical problems encountered and how the staff coped with them in spite of the often inadequate technology of 30 years ago.
Employing an agreeably laid-back style, the author gives lively descriptions of patients, nurses and fellow doctors, providing inter alia a vivid insight into South Africa as it was then. I feel that anyone interested in events in South Africa would find this book extremely interesting; and anyone interested in the tasks confronting doctors in a turbulent society such as South Africa was, would find this book invaluable and what's more a very good read.

I purchased this book on the recommendation of a friend, and couldn't be happier with it. My daughter loves cats, and sometimes likes to pretend to BE one of our 5 cats... so she really became involved in this book's mystical and ethical story. I love the illustrations and especially appreciate the artistic style - nicely situated between western and Egyptian. The decodable heiroglyphics is truly an inspiration. I was having trouble getting my little girl to respond to phonics (I am home schooling her), but after treating the heiroglyphics as just plain FUN, she took to the phonics with an attitude of fun as well. Lattimore makes her story both informative and fun.

The reason I like this book is the beautiful illustrations of Egyptian hieroglyphics and the different gods of the Egyptian pantheon. Ms. Lattimore usesthe correct historical terms while telling a good story. I use this story every year in my classroom as one tool to enrich my students' knowledge of ancient Egyptian culture. Each page is a learning experience for my sixth graders as they identify the different parts of the illustrations and its relationship to story. The Afterword gives details about Ancient Egypt.

My kindergarten age child is burning with passion for anythingabout ancient Egypt. We enjoyed this story immensely and have read itmany times. Each time, we discover new meanings in the detailedillustrations and decodable hieroglyphics....

The story and picturesbring many elements of Egytian mythology alive in ways thatnon-fiction can't. My son and I have read lots of recent non-fictionabout Ancient Egypt. From our other reading it seems to me that, inThe Winged Cat, mythical story elements hew closely to what is knownabout Ancient Egyptian theology. END

Since first reading this book, I have read all the other available titles by this author - especially "The Bronze Killer" (which featured two of the characters in this one), and "When you know that you know, that you know!" - and now, re-reading this one, I was able to enjoy it twice as much as before. I could also understand the writer's loyalty to South Africa, its Air Force, and especially 27 Squadron SAAF.

Although it is clearly fiction, and not meant to be studied as an historical treatise, it was well worth a second read.

I recommend it.

Our family certainly got its money's worth, as each in turn (having waited in line to read it) wanted to discuss it at the dinner table. Without exception, having fallen in love with Francois, they would raise the agonizing question: Why did he do that? Each came up with a different theory. My husband was led to read The Bronze Killer after reading this one. His review appears elsewhere.

From the time that I started to read "With No Remorse..." I could hardly put it down. The story of the devilish Stephanie just drew me from page to page and I could not wait to know what the outcome would be. One of my mother's dearest friends lost a Canadian Air Force son over Malta during the 1939-1945 war, so I was especially interested to learn how the islanders had also suffered during this war.

Among the many useful titles on women's liberation published by Pathfinder Press sits a gem of a pamphlet titled Women's Liberation and the African Freedom Struggle. It contains the full text of a speech given by Thomas Sankara, the revolutionary leader of the West African country Burkina Faso (formally Upper Volta) until his assassination in 1987.

Sankara gives his speech to thousands of Burkinabe women gathered to commemorate International Women's Day on March 8, 1987. His speech is bereft of the dogma and the rhetoric normally seen in capitalist politicians and is remarkably direct but sincere.

Sankara devotes a good portion of the speech detailing the specific challenges confronting African women in pursuit of their liberation on the continent. Based on a Marxist understanding of the development of class society he points to this fact as the origin of women's oppression.

Sankara puts the fight of Burkinabe women as part of the struggle for women's liberation world wide. A special strength of the speech is when Sankara stresses how the emancipation of women goes hand in hand with "the struggle for the rehabilitation of our continent".

For supporters of women's rights this pamphlet is a must read.

Sankara's speech isn't abstract rhethoric--what we used to call rapology int he days of the civil rights movement. It is practical leadership by a real revolutionist battling reaction, imperialism,and the weight of history, in a battle that he would give his life to. Listen to these words for what they say about the realities of the need to liberate women not just in Africa but throughout the World!


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These two issues strike at the heart of many struggles today. Sankara was the leader of a 1983 anti-imperialist revolution in the west African nation of Burkina Faso (known as Upper Volta in colonial times). He is unsparing in his condemnation of those who assert that traditional African values justify the isolation and oppression of women.

He calls on women to rise against the sexism of tribal, neo-colonial and capitalist eras that prevent their equal participation in society. He explains to male Burkinabe workers and peasants the necessity of this in order to fight for the liberation of their nation from colonialism and capitalism.

This is a children's book about the war in Sudan. Three young boys are trying to escape the attack by their village by Jangaweed, the Sudanese soldiers who terrorize the South Sudanese villages on horseback. They have to escape to another country but refugee camps are full and they have to choose correctly which way to run. A nice book to help children who have Sudanese student in their classrooms understand why they come here better. Also, the Sudanese students have books which they can identify with and stories that touch their lives. A good addition to any school library collection.

Alice Mead's novel Year of No Rain is excellent. It is well written, with just the right amount of suspense to drive the story along, and its didactic elements are rarely obtrusive. Yet teach it does--about the realities of life in Southern Sudan, about the Sudanese civil war, and (to a lesser extent) about the inherent senselessness of war. It successfully avoids the oversimplified understandings of the Sudanese civil war that are all too common in America. And even if the Sudanese civil war may now be drawing to an end (or may not be--there have been false hopes for its end before), the novel remains valuable for its portrayal of a war that is in many ways little different from many of Africa's other civil wars.

Stephen, a young Dinka, lives in a village with his mother and his elder sister, Naomi. His father has vanished, gone off to the war. Stephen's concerns are those of any older child in such a village: his family, the cows he tends and on which the village depends, and his sister's impending marriage.

As Mead's examination of daily life in Stephen's village continues through the first quarter of her novel, the echoes of the distant war build, until suddenly the village is raided by soldiers looking for food. Stephen and two other boys escape to the forest; his sister Naomi hides. The next day, Stephen and the other boys return to find the village destroyed, Stephen's mother dead, and Naomi vanished.

The remainder of the book tells the story of the boys' wanderings through forest, grassland, and swamp, at first heading for a refugee camp over the Ethiopian border, then returning home. Just enough happens to keep the plot going nicely without the book ever becoming tedious or monotonous. This is a real achievement of Mead's, since the boys' desperate journey is one of tedium, monotony, and incipient despair.

Finally, the boys return home to their village, where they find Naomi, who has escaped her captors and has also returned to the one place she can call home. The book ends on a hopeful but realistic note as the children start to try to re-establish life among the ruins.

Mead is to be congratulated not only on an excellent and atmospheric story, but also on the subtlety of her portrayal of Sudan's political and ethnic situation. She does not fall into the trap of seeing a simple struggle between Christian South and Muslim North, often told as a simple parable of good and evil. Mead's Northerners are shadowy and threatening, but her Southern soldiers are also threatening, though less shadowy. At first it is assumed that Stephen's village was raided by Northern troops; later, in a neat and very realistic twist, it turns out that the raiders were probably Southern rebels. The boys have to hide from Southern soldiers in a truck as well as from Northern soldiers in an airplane. The conflicts between different Southern tribes are as much a threat to the boys as thirst and disease. One Shilluk woman the boys meet is kind to the Dinka wanderers, but another Shilluk is indifferent. A Kenyan aid worker saves Stephen's life after he has caught malaria, but it is made clear that neither aid workers nor refugee camps are any real solution. The difficulties of life in the camps become clear to Stephen on his voyage of discovery, and it is in large part this realization that sends him and his friends back to their own village.

Stephen, like Mead's other characters, is almost entirely believable. He and his friends briefly consider revenge, or joining the rebels for the sake of food--an option Stephen rejects because he wants to be a teacher, not a soldier. Perhaps this ambition of Stephen's is a little too good to be true; perhaps it is not. We all need to have hope, and in Stephen, Mead gives us some cause for hope. Because of this, despite the immensely depressing nature of its subject, Mead's book is not in itself depressing.

Year of No Rain does not examine the geopolitical and socioeconomic causes of the civil war. Given the perspectives of her characters, this is not something that Mead could realistically do. Mead's book thereby raises an interesting question: which view of war is more real, the experts' and analysts' view that seeks to explain root causes, or the participants' view, that sees war as an inexplicable catastrophe?

Year of No Rain is strongly recommended for its target audience, and might well be suitable for older groups, too. Its readers will enjoy it, and--with suitable guidance--will have their understanding of complexity expanded, rather than having their assumption of simplicity reinforced.

(...)

Alice Mead's novel Year of No Rain is excellent. It is well written, with just the right amount of suspense to drive the story along, and its didactic elements are rarely obtrusive. Yet teach it does--about the realities of life in Southern Sudan, about the Sudanese civil war, and (to a lesser extent) about the inherent senselessness of war. It successfully avoids the oversimplified understandings of the Sudanese civil war that are all too common in America. And even if the Sudanese civil war may now be drawing to an end (or may not be--there have been false hopes for its end before), the novel remains valuable for its portrayal of a war that is in many ways little different from many of Africa's other civil wars.

Stephen, a young Dinka, lives in a village with his mother and his elder sister, Naomi. His father has vanished, gone off to the war. Stephen's concerns are those of any older child in such a village: his family, the cows he tends and on which the village depends, and his sister's impending marriage.

As Mead's examination of daily life in Stephen's village continues through the first quarter of her novel, the echoes of the distant war build, until suddenly the village is raided by soldiers looking for food. Stephen and two other boys escape to the forest; his sister Naomi hides. The next day, Stephen and the other boys return to find the village destroyed, Stephen's mother dead, and Naomi vanished.

The remainder of the book tells the story of the boys' wanderings through forest, grassland, and swamp, at first heading for a refugee camp over the Ethiopian border, then returning home. Just enough happens to keep the plot going nicely without the book ever becoming tedious or monotonous. This is a real achievement of Mead's, since the boys' desperate journey is one of tedium, monotony, and incipient despair.

Finally, the boys return home to their village, where they find Naomi, who has escaped her captors and has also returned to the one place she can call home. The book ends on a hopeful but realistic note as the children start to try to re-establish life among the ruins.

Mead is to be congratulated not only on an excellent and atmospheric story, but also on the subtlety of her portrayal of Sudan's political and ethnic situation. She does not fall into the trap of seeing a simple struggle between Christian South and Muslim North, often told as a simple parable of good and evil. Mead's Northerners are shadowy and threatening, but her Southern soldiers are also threatening, though less shadowy. At first it is assumed that Stephen's village was raided by Northern troops; later, in a neat and very realistic twist, it turns out that the raiders were probably Southern rebels. The boys have to hide from Southern soldiers in a truck as well as from Northern soldiers in an airplane. The conflicts between different Southern tribes are as much a threat to the boys as thirst and disease. One Shilluk woman the boys meet is kind to the Dinka wanderers, but another Shilluk is indifferent. A Kenyan aid worker saves Stephen's life after he has caught malaria, but it is made clear that neither aid workers nor refugee camps are any real solution. The difficulties of life in the camps become clear to Stephen on his voyage of discovery, and it is in large part this realization that sends him and his friends back to their own village.

Stephen, like Mead's other characters, is almost entirely believable. He and his friends briefly consider revenge, or joining the rebels for the sake of food--an option Stephen rejects because he wants to be a teacher, not a soldier. Perhaps this ambition of Stephen's is a little too good to be true; perhaps it is not. We all need to have hope, and in Stephen, Mead gives us some cause for hope. Because of this, despite the immensely depressing nature of its subject, Mead's book is not in itself depressing.

Year of No Rain does not examine the geopolitical and socioeconomic causes of the civil war. Given the perspectives of her characters, this is not something that Mead could realistically do. Mead's book thereby raises an interesting question: which view of war is more real, the experts' and analysts' view that seeks to explain root causes, or the participants' view, that sees war as an inexplicable catastrophe?

Year of No Rain is strongly recommended for its target audience, and might well be suitable for older groups, too. Its readers will enjoy it, and--with suitable guidance--will have their understanding of complexity expanded, rather than having their assumption of simplicity reinforced.