Africa Books

IT IS AN EXCELLENT AND EDUCATIONAL BOOK. WELL ANALYSED AND UNBIASED. IT MUST BE READ BY ALL ETHIOPIANS AND THE US STATE DEPT. OFFICIALS. DO YOU HAVE A PLAN TO HAVE IT PRINTED IN PAPER PACK SO THAT MANY ETHIOPIANS CAN BUY THE BOOK AT A CHEAPER PRICE?

IT IS AN EXCELLENT AND EDUCATIONAL BOOK. WELL ANALYSED AND UNBIASED. IT MUST BE READ BY ALL ETHIOPIANS AND THE US STATE DEPT. OFFICIALS. DO YOU HAVE A PLAN TO HAVE IT PRINTED IN PAPER PACK SO THAT MANY ETHIOPIANS CAN BUY THE BOOK AT A CHEAPER PRICE?

Having taken this book with me to a doctor's office, I was actually disappointed to have to stop reading, when my name was called for the appointment! I expected the book to be interesting, but it was much more than that. The great humor was unexpected! I laughed out loud several times, chuckled and smiled through many of the stories of Leoma's adventures during her years in the Sudan. Dr. Gilley gave a thorough understanding of the difficulties and hardships faced by an expatriate,while providing enilightening insight into Sudanese culture and customs. I highly recommend this book,both for personal reading and for gift-giving. Dixie M

After so much media coverage of the political situation in Sudan and Darfur, it was especially interesting to read this very personal view of the Sudanese culture and people. With a combination of humor and insight, the author takes the reader along with her as she learns how to live and work in a culture so very different from her own. The author obviously loves and respects the Sudanese; and by the end of the book, I had gained an appreciation for the Sudanese as well.

I have read many ethnographies in my day, but I can't recall another that has had me at turns astounded by the author's insight, impressed with his prose, saddened by his findings, and laughing out loud at the wry wit of his descriptive voice. I do not normally consider good anthropology "fun" to read, but "EXPECTATIONS OF MODERNITY" bucks the trend. It's well-argued, impassioned, and thoroughly readable.

Author Ferguson is concerned with the experience of "modernity" and "development" as lived by residents of Zambia's Copperbelt, who since the 1970s have experienced an unrelenting slide into social and economic marginalization. He works in case studies drawn from individual interview subjects, census data, and textual asides--boxes featuring news clippings from Zambian papers, or brief "People Watching" accounts of the author's street observations with his research assistant. The discussion ranges from meta-narratives of "progress" and "modernization" to an eye-opening analysis of the opposing styles adopted by Zambian urbanites.

His conclusion is grim: "For many Zambians... recent history has been experienced not--as the modernization plot led one to expect--as a process of moving forward or joining up with the world, but as a process that has pushed them out of the place in the world that they once occupied." The process of globalization has not connected this corner of Africa (and its inhabitants) to the currents of prosperity traversing the world economy; rather it has disconnected them, throwing them out of the garden of "development." Ferguson stresses that they have not been "left out" of world capitalism; the processes of abjection he describes are integral parts of the system.

Even amid the gathering gloom of this analysis, I found myself heartened by the author's occasional humor and by his sympathetic (and self-effacing) accounts of casual encounters in the field. I had not previously had much time for anti-globalization arguments, but Ferguson's disarming approach lowered my skepticism, forcing me to confront the ugly truths of the new world order in a way I had never done before. My hat is off to this man for crafting such a great book.

This is a truly rich and incisive ethnography of an African nation in the midst of long-term economic decline. Ferguson may be best known to readers as the author of 1990's "The Anti-Politics Machine", a widely acknowledged classic of contemporary social anthropology and one of the seminal works of what might be called the new development studies. Admirers of "Anti-Politics Machine" should not expect a simple retread of old material here, however. "Expectations of Modernity" focuses squarely on the lived experience of national economic decline, and the cultural and economic strategies by which retiring copper miners are adjusting to the new world order.
Perhaps the most refreshing aspect of "Expectations" is Ferguson's recourse to an eclectic mix of theoretical concepts and approaches. Dick Hebdige's analysis of subculture and style, Judith Butler's insights into gender performances, and Bourdieu's reflections on cultural capital are all invoked here to shed light on Zambians' attempts to grapple with economic decline. The breadth and subtlety of the author's theoretical approach to questions of culture, power, and style enables him to challenge the old, teleological narrative of Africa's progress from "tradition" to "modernity." "Expectations of Modernity" is therefore relevant not only to Africa and the Third World, but also to all those de-industrializing and declining regions of the capitalist West that have been nourished for decades on the false promises of modernist metanarratives.

I very much enjoyed this book. Ilo looks at all levels of the issues affecting Africa today. His research and knowledge on Africa, African history, and the current climate is extremely thorough. It is clear he has a passion for the subject and his total approach model is not only practical, it is feasible. I found myself reading this slowly so I could absorb the points in each layer presented. Highly recommended.

This work is timely. At a time when many Westerners are reading Africa as masters and lords, Stan Chu Ilo, gives a new paradigm. He argues against the bifurcated vision of Africa that has been projected by many international organizations and agencies. His call for a total picture approach model for interpreting the movement of history in Africa is very insightful and well-taken; his call for Africans to take up again the task of nation-building is timely; his critique of globalization and neo-liberal orthodoxies is rooted in deep social scientific research and a keen sense of the bases for social evolution in Africa. The Afro-Christian vision that he projects based on signs of hope in Africa filled me with new sense of hope for Africa. His development of the structural injustice in Africa and the lack of African sense of identity which he interprets as the homelessness of Africans raises the concerns of Africa today beyond mere sentimentalism or romanticism to the concrete nithy grithy of deep engagment with history, politics, religion etc in a integral way to change the face of Africa. This book bears re-reading and needs to be put on the table of everyone who is interested in seeing the true face of Africa and wants to better the condition of African through the path of cultural and human development.

This book, the companion piece to the exhibition of the same name, is a blessing. Thompson, professor & head of the department of African Art at Yale, directed this incredible exhibition in 1993 at NYC's Museum of African Art. From Ifa in Nigeria, to Santeria in Puerto Rico, to Obeah in Jamaica, to Vodun in Haiti, he and his companion scholars and curators have contributed in a healing circle across the Middle Passage. Shattering damaging, racist mythologies of these religions, _Face of the Gods_ fosters an understanding for these misunderstood religions while maintaining a respectful distance. Complete with analyses, interviews, and color photographs.

This book is SO GOOD! I've had it for about five years, but every time I take it off the shelf I learn something new. Highly recommended for any Orisa devotee, a follower of African traditional religions, or anyone interested in the African diaspora. It would be a great gift even to the illiterate, as the photographs are amazing. I think this book sold for about $500 originally, and even at that cost it would have been worth every penny.

Alison Wright moves beyond photography as she not only captures the physical essence of the children she photographs, she also captures the social and spiritual essence of these children. Each child leaps off the page and commands your attention. Alison takes the reader on a tour of the non-Western world and provides us a glimpse of these children's daily lives. By the quality and detail of the photos, it is obvious that Alison loves these children and successfully invokes compassion in the reader. Alison draws the reader into each picture through the beautiful imagery and vivid narratives which descirbe the various cultures of the children.

Alison Wright, thank you for making this beautiful book and share your wonderful photographs with us. I can't never get tired of looking at them.
You have photographed them with the eyes of your soul.

An informative and very readable book. The reporting of environments and people is both vivid and frank. Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in this area.

Harding deserves praise for allowing Africans to do most of the talking in his essays looking at Africa's protracted civil conflicts. His book represents journalism at its finest and is a must read for anyone interested in contemporary African affairs.

A wicked good book! One of the best on African history around

Last year's winner of the Best Publication in African Studies is a very deserving choice. This book is not the average academic fare, it is actually an engaging read. This author, unlike many academicians, can truly be called a writer

I purchased this book on a whim when it first came out, and it is still one of my favorites. The intensity of the photographs, coupled with the essays, convey to the reader the deep love this man has for African people all over the world. Every time I open this book, I am filled with a sense of wonderment and joy as I look into these beautiful brown and black faces. It is like looking at an album of family photos that no one told you was there. You are drawn into the space that the subject occupies and feel as though you are there. There is one photo of his aunt praying, and i swear that she looks just like some of my people down in Arkansas! There is also a rare picture of Dr John Henry Clarke being made an honorary chief that is absolutely priceless. This book shows the simplicity and complexity of all of our lives: Our beliefs, rituals, loves, and connections to one another. It is this book that got me started collecting coffee table books based on the African experience and it's a great start for anyone who wants to see us as we truly are, or simply wants to see themselves.

Seeing ourselves helps us to know ourselves. Seeing people in the context of their world community helps us to know that we are truly one people of the world. Chester Higgins, Jr. has celebrated the African journey and the extended and extensive African family in a way that no other photographer has. Visually this book is treasury. The essays are equally as wonderful. How can African Americans and all descendants of Africa teach our children to honor themselves? We should show them these photographs. All people interested in knowing and sharing the human story would enjoy FEELING THE SPIRIT - SEARCHING THE WORLD FOR PEOPLE OF AFRICA. Every library in every school and university in America should have a copy of this wonderful book.

I don't remember how I was referred to this book, but I am so glad we read it. The story is very well-written, engaging even for my 2 and 4 year old children.

The story is written in first person, told from the perspective of an African child, whose family lives on the savannah plains. Some caucasian tourists come for a visit, and the young girl forgets her teddy bear. Meto, the young boy, then has quite an adventure as he runs across the savannah, trying to catch up to the girl and return her animal to her.

This book is an absolute must to parents or teachers of young children (ages 4-8 in particular). We are honored to have shared the story together. We especially enjoyed learning the Swahili words for "Goodbye" and for various savannah animals.

This book was inspired by a Safari to Kenya and Tanzania. I was part of the group that travelled with Ms. Ichikawa to Africa. The beauty of the land, the warmth of the people, and the magic of the wildlife is all recreated here... of course, in a simplified manner that makes it accessible to children of all ages. The First Bear in Africa is a story of two children learning about each other's culture. Since there are no bears in Africa, this additional clever twist adds another layer to a wonderful story. Thank you, Ms. Ichikawa, for a magical memory of an incredible adventure.