Africa in history: themes and outlines

Basil Davidson

Macmillan, 1969 - Africa - 318 pages

A brief history of the entire African continent. Others in this series on African history are: The African Genius: An Introduction to African Cultural and Social History, The African Slave Trade, and The Lost Cities of Africa (all 1988).

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LibraryThing Review

User Review  - sterlingelanier - LibraryThing

Superb! 1)Readable; careful 2) Always precise when possible 3) Never stops the effort to be fair, even-handed and present both and/or may sides of a case! S E Lanier 1998

Africa in history: themes and outlines

User Review  - Not Available - Book Verdict

This is the fourth revision of an excellent book by the prolific and acclaimed author who has done more than anyone else to bring the history of Africa to a popular audience. It covers the general ...

Contents

• New Truths: 1
• In the Heart of Africa: 10
• Ancient Glories: 21

About the author

Basil Risbridger Davidson began his journalistic career as a member of the editorial staff of The Economist in 1938. That assignment was interrupted by World War II, during which Davidson served in the British army with distinction, receiving the Military Cross, the U.S. Bronze Star, and the Jugoslav Zasluge za Narod for his service in the Balkans, North Africa, and Italy. After being demobilized from the service, Davidson returned to journalism, first as the diplomatic correspondent of The Star and then as the Paris correspondent of The Times. He went on to become chief foreign lead writer and then special correspondent for the New Statesman, special correspondent for the Daily Herald, and lead writer for the Daily Mirror. As a journalist he published numerous works of fiction including Highway Forty (1949), Golden Horn (1952), The Rapids (1955), Lindy (1958), and The Andrassy Affair (1966) His nonfiction work includes Partisan Picture (1946), Germany from Potsdam to Partition (1948), and Daybreak in China (1953). Most of these were the outcome of his wartime experiences and subsequent career in journalism. During these years Davidson took an increasing interest in the African past. This interest brought him to the University of Ghana as a visiting professor in 1964 and as professor in 1965. Since that time he has devoted himself to the discovery of that history. He published his first work on Africa, Report on Southern Africa, in 1952. A host of other publications followed. His work has been characterized not only by his sympathy for Africa and for the Africans but also by the explication of the African past with a combination of the thoroughness of an investigative reporter and a style that has made his books popular with a large international audience. Although some of Davidson's earlier conclusions have been revised by later scholarly research, this in no way has diminished his influence on giving legitimacy to the history of Africa. His readable elucidation of African history has brought him many honors and awards over the years. His most effective exposition of the African past, however, may have been as author and narrator of a popular eight-part television documentary of Africa's history that aired in 1984. His most reflective thoughts on his research and writing on the African past may be found in his latest book, The Black Man's Burden: Africa and the Curse of the Nation State (1992).

Bibliographic information

• Title: Africa in history: themes and outlines
• Author: Basil Davidson
• Edition: revised
• Publisher: Macmillan, 1969
• Original from: the University of Michigan
• Digitized: Oct 23, 2006
• Length: 318 pages