Ghana Books

In that this follows a number of other reviews of Philip Briggs' "Ghana--The Bradt Travel Guide" (second edition), there may be a "coals to Newcastle" aspect to my comments. I found the first edition, recommended by a Ghanaian friend, very helpful on a trip to Ghana in February of 2001. I've since bought the second (updated and expanded) edition, and find it as readable as the first, as well as continuing to give a reasonable level of detail about getting around, places to stay, and things to see. There are some pet items that in my view would have warranted mention, such as the universities in Cape Coast and Kumasi, but it's not reasonable to expect everything about a country to show up in 354 pages. Having worked in Ghana years ago, I was not starting from zero when picking up Briggs' book. I had also been checking with a few Ghanaian friends, and had been looking into websites. Maybe that's the main point to make: No single source of information, even a very good guidebook such as this one, can be entirely complete and up-to-date.

From the U.S., at least, your visa application may be your first encounter with Ghanaian bureaucracy. Unless you live close to the embassy in Washington or the consulate in New York, get started at least two months in advance. Once in Ghana, you'll need to get adjusted to some third-world realities. Those used to North American and European infrastructure and scheduling efficiency may have to remind themselves that things really will typically take longer, that power and water outages can be frequent, that transportation will not always be fully predictable, and that breakdowns should not be a surprise. Get on the road early whenever possible, make sure that you fill that bucket in the bathroom promptly on arrival, and keep a flashlight handy. Ghana is not, in short, the sort of "autofocus" vacation area that we may tend to expect, but instead qualifies as your "grittier, more economical, more authentic African experience". Keep in mind that if you have travelled all day and arrived somewhere hot, sweaty, dusty and grimy, that your initial impression of a destination will probably not be as favorable as it will be a day later, once you have had the chance to clean up, rest up, and get calibrated to the place. Ghanaians pointed out to us, and our experience verified, that transportation functions more efficiently in southern and central Ghana than it does further north, and one should plan accordingly. Philip Briggs' guide to Ghana will definitely help in that planning.

With its tips on bargaining, prices, and cultural advice you can easily just step off the plane and plan your vacation straight from this book. I found while traveling around the back roads of Ghana for 6 weeks that my fellow travelers were constantly borrowing my copy. Even when I was in way out areas I was able to whip out my book and find places to eat and sleep.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who's planning a trip to Ghana, and especially if your trip is away from tourist areas. I suggest traveling away from the cities anyway. The rural areas are so much more traditional and untouched that I found it more enjoyable than the urban areas.

For example, the Lonely planet's West Africa Guide did not provide information on how to get from Bolga to Wa. This book gave us the bus company, time and price of the trip. When arriving in Bolga we asked how to get to Wa and most of the people there were not really positive, but sure enough the book was completely accurate.

Another example was when we were in the Volta Region climbing Mount Afedzeto. There were no places to stay, but the guide says that if one asks for the Peace Corps on duty, that member will gladly give you a room. Sure enough we had a very comfortable place to stay for the night.

This book is well written and the best on the market. There is an incredibly helpful guide to the animals one will see in Mole national Park and a great general guide about how to get around and what to are "cultural taboos."

The author's writing style makes the book easy to read and allows you to know him well after only reading one section.

It is the only guide book that is fitting for such a diverse and delightful country.

The conflict with the British was far from a cake walk for the British. The Asante fought bravely for their freedom and gave the British everything that they could handle. The British were not able to subdue the Asante until the progress in arms technology made the Asante armaments obsolete and gave the British a huge advantage. Eventually it was British howitzers vs. Asante muskets.

This book describes the 100 years on-again off-again war between the British (and their Fante allies) and the Ashanti (supported by the Dutch). The author is an anthropologist and his intepretation of events emphasizes the cross-cultural incomprehension of two societies (Victorian Britain, and late Ashanti Empire) which in some ways were remarkably similar: aristocratic, hierarchical, chauvinistic, imperialistic, militaristic. Some of the stories are fascinating as in the depressing case of the British kidnapping and torture of an Ashanti peace emissary which predictably leads to Ashanti mobilization and the seige of the British castle at Cape Coast. Or the fact that it takes 70 years for the British to figure out that desertions by the Fante were less motivated by cowardice than the fact that the British were forcing their Fante porters to do culturally innappropriate "women's work." Nevertheless, the author clearly likes both the British and the Ashanti, so he makes constant references to the "cowardly" "perfidious" etc. Fante. What the Ashanti could not do, malaria and dysentary did (they don't call West Africa "White Man's Grave" for nothing) and in the end, the British need howitzers and Yoruba troops brought in from Nigeria to capture the Ashanti capital of Kumasi. The final armed resistance to the British is led by an old woman named Yaa Asantewaa who after her capture died in exile in the Seychelles.

The Ashantis never really made their peace with the British and this history has relevance for contemporary Ghana as manifested by the underrepresentation of the Ashanti in the politically influential armed forces, relative to other ethnic groups.

Slave life becomes more real to the audience, and beyond that, very emotionally gripping. See Ama get raped and all the ones she loves killed. Every aspect of her life is so transient and depressingly fleeting.

I gave it a 3 because some of the writing is very silly and cliche, and a little longwinded, but it's definately a good read. It pegs right into the historical fiction category and contrary to the title, focuses a lot of energy and time in intra-African slave trading. This is an aspect many ignore when approaching the topic of slave trade from a US vantage.

This book will sensitize people to the plights of long ago, that Herbstein suggests contine today, as he says the story does not end...

Aidoo's love story traces Esi's distinctly rebellious and independent path to love and marriage, as contrasted to the more traditional married lives of Opokuya and Fusena.; in doing so, the novel illustrates women challenging a postcolonial African society on all fronts. This front is as diverse as the workplace, in hotel bars, in the kitchen, on the road driving alone in their new cars, in the rural traditional village, and in the bedroom. Despite often finding that lonely independence is untenable, Esi and Opokuya achieve moderate success in their fight. Their resiliency indicates shifting gender roles in Africa, and some compatibility between tradition and these new roles.

I give this book 5 stars because ot is an extremely rich story told frankly and believably. The material even seems politically important (perhaps all novels should try to be so?) in that it addresses real problems facing Africa and does not always provide answers, although it certainly proveds a rich cast of characters attempting to do so.

Ama Ata Aidoo's second novel is the story of a woman discovering herself - trying unsuccessfully to balance her need for independence with her need for attention and love within the 'constraints' of Ghanaian culture.

What she finds is that Ghanaian culture is wise; "Esi, why do you think they took so much trouble with a girl on her wedding day?... She was made much of, because the whole ceremony was a funeral of the self that could have been."

Changes - the love story Ama Ata Aidoo professed she would never write - conveys the clutter of the zongo, the frustrations of working life in Accra, and the disillusionment of love. Peppered with the uncanny wisecracks of African culture: on love; "when we have to count pennies for food for our stomachs... love is nothing", on hypocrisy; "How can anyone go about, eating the heads of cows, and still maintain that he is afraid of eyes?"; Changes is a delightful trance. One of those pleasures that is indefinable but defining.

It is written without fuss in the language that Ghanaians call English - adapted to suit the whims and imaginings of the local mind. Ama Ata Aidoo flows with ease, occasionally returning (for effect) to the drama format with which she is unquestionably comfortable.

Read this or weep!