Africa: A Biography of the Continent"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 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 Continent is an unforgettable book that will delight the general reader and expert alike. "Breathtaking in its scope and detail." --San Francisco Chronicle |
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LibraryThing Review
User Review - cwhouston - LibraryThingI found this book rather heavy going, but that is partly because a lot of the more distant history stuff is of little interest to me. I did, however, also find the writing style a little dull. To be ... Read full review
AFRICA: A Biography of the Continent
User Review - KirkusA grand attempt to illuminate the history of the "dark continent," using an almost stunning blend of disciplines from geology to anthropology to agronomy. Despite the breadth of the title, Reader ... Read full review
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Common terms and phrases
activity Africa agricultural animals appears authority average became become began British brought Cape carried cattle cent central century CHAPTER climatic coast colonial communities Congo continent course crops cultivation demands domestic early East economic effect elephants environment established European evidence exploited fact farmers force forest gold groups growth human important increased indicate indigenous individuals instance iron island Khoisan kilometres king known labour Lake land languages least less living means metres million moved natural Nile origin period plantain plants political population Portuguese probably production quoted record region remained reported river Sahara salt ships slaves social society South southern species stone supply throughout tion trade valley vegetation West Africa wild
Bibliographic information
| Title | Africa: A Biography of the Continent |
| Author | John Reader |
| Edition | illustrated, reprint |
| Publisher | Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 1999 |
| Original from | Pennsylvania State University |
| Digitized | Jun 3, 2009 |
| ISBN | 067973869X, 9780679738695 |
| Length | 816 pages |
| Subjects | › › History / Africa / General Political Science / Colonialism & Post-Colonialism Social Science / Anthropology / Cultural & Social |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |