Ghana Books

Very nicely written and illustrated, the kind of book that you hope to find when you are in elementary school and need to write a report. Excellent addition to any school library.

This is a wonderful autobiography of Ghanas important first president. It is an excellent lesson for our history.

This a very accessible, though dated, introduction to Ghana written by a political scientist (now in the Israeli Knesset) and an anthropologist. The only real problem with the book is that the story ends in 1979, just as Flt Lt Jerry J Rawlings comes to power and initiates a significant reorientation of the Ghanaian economic and political system. It is a pity that Pellow and Chazan have not updated this book. Now of interest more as a history than a description of the contemporary scene.

A wonderful synthesis of a subject that is key to understanding modern Hausa culture. Anyone interested in the future of central Africa should read this book.

Mr. Bagudu brings great passion and intensity to what could otherwise appear to be dry subjects, the life of Kofi Annan (former Secretary Genral of the UN), the history of the UN, and the intersection of the two. Full of research and contemporary documentation, "Judging Annan" is, however, far from being a book in the traditional dry `scholarly" mould. Providing a distinttly african point of view, Mr. Bagudu goes into a lot of interesting detail not only on the life of Mr. Annan, but the little-understood workings of the UN and it's complex relationship with countries such as France, Belgium and particularly, the United States. Herein is provided an alternative point of view of incidents for which the UN and Mr. Annan faced harsh criticism, such as the Rwandan genocide and the oil for food scandal. The book makes a case that the UN, and Mr. Annan's work there should be measured, not against an arbitrary standard of perfection, but against the very real limitations of an international organization having no real power and limited resources. The chapter on the Rwandan genocide was particularly poignant, providing a lot of detail on the relationship between the Tutsis and Hutus, and background, with more detail than I've seen in standard press coverage, on the worst genocide since the Holocaust.

The Sisala and their neighbors the Dagara and Lobi share many orientations, one of the chief being their decentralized polities: their governing bodies are local, they have no conception or notion of kingship. Before there were any national governments (the Sisala region currently straddles northwestern Ghana and southern Burkina Faso) there were not even any 'chiefs': the local Earth Priest in tandem with the local village council did whatever governing was needed. This book outlines in nearly exquisite detail the spiritual, social, economic and political underpinnings of this society, and how the Earth Priest and the religion he represents interfaces with it.

All things considered, there's really not much to get picky about as regards this book. It gets annoying when you forget the meaning of a Sisala word and there is neither a glossary nor an index to hunt for it. So by all means, write down these words and their definition as you read - otherwise things will tend to get more than a little fuzzy around the edges as you try to slog your way through. Being the published version of his doctoral dissertation, it should not be expected that there be an index and glossary contained here. I myself still wish it had one or the other.

There are times when you wish Tengan would quote directly from his informants rather than just write about what they are saying - such distillations are always somewhat suspect, even when coming from the most evenhanded of writers. It's a bit hard for me to trust that nothing is being lost in translation. There's not much here that even slightly resembles poetry, and that's rather sad. You get a well-exposed skeleton and enough sinew that one can sense the culture asserting itself; what you don't get is all of its flow, and hardly any of its flavor. But once again I forget that this is a dissertation. I would suggest reading any or all of Malidoma or Sobonfu Some's books - though they are neighboring Dagara rather than Sisala, their perspective will provide plenty of the kind of juice missing from Tengan's account.

On the other hand, there is a fountainhead of information presented here, rendered in an organized and non-chauvinistic manner. For instance, the passage when he makes comparisons with other African cultures, showing how differing climates may influence given ethnic groups' spiritual relationship to the land - his ruminations are handled very well, and never overdone. Tengan keeps track of context and does not overvalue generalities at the expense of perceived, individual variants.

In general, his explanations play themselves out quite well, without the excess jargon and/or mental constipation one almost comes to expect from such a detailed tract.

One cautionary note: unless you are already well versed in anthropological theory and its history, it might prove wise to skip the section on anthro-historical approaches to cosmology. Other than this section's introduction and where he is writing about Claude Levi-Strauss, it's pretty hard to follow, and I believe poorly digested/written.

But pretty much everything else, even the "slower" sections, is very worthwhile. Throughout the text there are ample insights and well-gauged comparisons to whet the appetite for further study. In most of the sections, the way he builds up and paces the discussion is highly skilled.

And the chapter on the "individual" in Sisala society - especially the section where he's talking about the different parts of the soul and so forth - is much clearer than what Ephirim-Donkor was able to do regarding the Akan peoples immediately to the south geographically. To borrow a metaphor from a song written by one lovely American singer (Joan Baez), it's like comparing diamonds to rust.

Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana, made many contributions to his country and to the fight for political independence of African countries. His cultural policies created many institutions in Ghana and some remain visionary today. His call for African unity remains largely on paper. Who was this person, and what drove him?

In 17 chapters, grouped into three parts (society, politics, and economy), the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana (Legon) brought together prominent scholars to "assess aspects of Nkrumah's life and work from the perspectives of their various disciplines and their own `ideological' viewpoints" (p. x). The result is this beautifully done book. Its three parts can be read independently of each other. I enjoyed Part 3 on the economy. Some of the ideas that Nkrumah espoused are obsolete and/or were incorrect even at the time; others are startlingly current and relevant this many years later, proving the mental power and forecasting ability or perceptions of the man. I was particularly impressed by the cogency with which Dr. Nkrumah asserted the primacy of cultural institutions in determining progress. While the role of culture in human progress is not a new subject to anthropologists, others including economists have just begun to incorporate non-economic factors in their studies of economic progress.

This is a very good book for both admirers and critics of Nkrumah and his work. A worthwhile reading.

Amavilah, Author
Modeling Determinants of Income in Embedded Economies
ISBN: 1600210465

A fascinating attempt to describe and analyse the phenomenon of stool succession disputes illustrating how life can be made complex and complicated whilst two separate traditions vie for supremacy on a foundation of misunderstanding and mischief. I admire the author's perspicacity in undertaking this work and pay tribute to his skills as a researcher and explainer, however I wish it had been better proofed before publication.

This is a great insight into politics in Ghana and Africa as a whole. Yes indeed, Africa has lots of Academics and educated people who have the book know how but suprisingly we are yet to elect leaders who have sense of integrity and commitment to accountability to the ordinary people. I also believe just like the book suggests that good leadership is about character..lead by example.

I was interested to hear that this book has been updated and reproduced. My grandfather Mr A.J. Ocansey, was one of the sponsors of the original book. I first saw a copy of the original book which belonged to the daughter of Dr Bruce who I believe was also one of the sponsors!I am very happy to get a copy of this book.It contains the sort of information which has been lost and of which the modern generation of West Africans are unaware.
It has a lot of information for people researching their family history.