Synopses & Reviews
This history of Africa from the origins of mankind to the South African general election of 1994 refocuses African history on the peopling of an environmentally hostile continent. The social, economic and political institutions of the African continent were designed to ensure survival and maximize numbers, but in the context of medical progress and other twentieth-century innovations these institutions have bred the most rapid population growth the world has ever seen. The history of the continent is thus a single story binding living Africans to the earliest human ancestors.
Review
"Africans: The History of a Continent is a lucid work and is accessible to a wide range of readers....This work represents a substantial achievement in the realm of general African histories." Jonathan Waltz, African Studies Quarterly"I have never read a more original, stimulating, current and authoritative text; it ranks with the best creative masters of the genre who defined the fields of African history." Joseph C. Miller, University of Virginia"This excellent continent-wide survey...is one of the best single volumes of African history that is currently available to the specialist as well as the student...In addition to providing a solid background in African history, Iliffe's stimulating interpretations open up many useful avenues for debate and further research. This work is highly recommended for scholars and students alike." The Historian"What sets his book apart from other such surveys is his treatment of the environment and population as factors in the development of Africa, including North Africa....Iliffe's excellent, well-written introductory text belongs in all collections of Africana." Library Journal"This excellent continent-wide survey...is one of the best single volumes of African history that is currently available to the specialist as well as the student...In addition to providing a solid background in African history, Iliffe's stimulating interpretations open up many useful avenues for debate and further research. This work is highly recommended for scholars and students alike." The Historian"I an aadition to providing a solid background in African history, Iliffe's stimulating interpretations open up many useful avenues for debate and further research. this work is highly recommended for scholars and students alike." Andrew F. Clark, The Historian"In addition to providing a solid background in African History, Iliffe's stimulating interpretations open up many useful avenues for debate and further research. This work is highly recommended for scholars and students alike." Andrew F. Clark, Africa and the Middle East
Review
"I have never read a more original, stimulating, current and authoritative text; it ranks with the best creative masters of the genre who defined the fields of African history." Joseph C. Miller, University of Virginia"...an outstandingly impressive achievement. It supersedes all other single volume histories of Africa and is remarkable for its grasp of the recent literature on virtually everything from archaeology to current affairs. It sweeps away many of the assertions and interpretations of previous surveys of the history of Africa and replaces them with more reliably grounded narrative and analysis. The emphasis upon environment and population allows Iliffe to treat the whole of Africa, both north and south of the Sahara, more effectively than anyone else has done....This is a book which describes human agency, culture and belief. It is very well written and brought to life with vivid quotations. It has no equal or rival." Terence Ranger, University of Oxford"This excellent continent-wide survey...is one of the best single volumes of African history that is currently available to the specialist as well as the student...In addition to providing a solid background in African history, Iliffe's stimulating interpretations open up many useful avenues for debate and further research. This work is highly recommended for scholars and students alike." The Historian
Synopsis
A comprehensive history of Africa from the origins of mankind to the late twentieth century.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 296-309) and index.
Table of Contents
1. The frontiersmen of mankind; 2. The emergence of food-producing communities; 3. The impact of metals; 4. Christianity and Islam; 5. Colonising society in Western Africa; 6. Colonising society in Eastern and Southern Africa; 7. The Atlantic slave trade; 8. Regional diversity in the nineteenth century; 9. Colonial invasion; 10. Colonial change, 1918-50; 11. Independent Africa; 12. Industrialisation and race in South Africa.