Africa: A Biography of the Continent
Sign in to keep track of books you’ve read and want to read.
"Awe-inspiring . . . a masterly synthesis."
—The New York Times Book Review
"Deeply penetrating, intensely thought-provoking and thoroughly informed . . . one of the most important general surveys of Africa that has been produced in the last decade." —The Washington Post
Read more
In 1978, paleontologists in East Africa discovered the earliest evidence of our divergence from the apes: three pre-human footprints, striding away from a volcano, were preserved in the petrified surface of a mudpan over three million years ago. Out of Africa, the world's most ancient and stable landmass, Homo sapiens dispersed across the globe. And yet the continent that gave birth to human history has long been woefully misunderstood and mistreated by the rest of the world.
In a book as splendid in its wealth of information as it is breathtaking in scope, British writer and photojournalist John Reader brings to light Africa's geology and evolution, the majestic array of its landforms and environments, the rich diversity of its peoples and their ways of life, the devastating legacies of slavery and colonialism as well as recent political troubles and triumphs. Written in simple, elegant prose and illustrated with Reader's own photographs, Africa: A Biography of the Continentis an unforgettable book that will delight the general reader and expert alike.
"Breathtaking in its scope and detail." —San Francisco Chronicle
Liked Africa: A Biography of the Continent? Here’s where I’d start.
These suit anyone who liked Africa: A Biography of the Continent. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.
-
The Fate of Africa: A History of Fifty Years of Independence Shares Africa, history, nonfiction -
Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles Shares Africa, nonfiction, history -
The Scramble for Africa: The White Man's Conquest of the Dark Continent from 1876 to 1912 Shares Africa, history, nonfiction -
The Africans: A Triple Heritage Shares Africa, history, nonfiction
“People who read Africa: A Biography of the Continent tend to reach for these next.”
-
Africa's World War: Congo, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Making of a Continental Catastrophe
-
Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa
-
A Continent for the Taking: The Tragedy and Hope of Africa
-
Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story of Britain's Gulag in Kenya
