Books About Africa
for information and enjoyment

Historical

Ayittey, George B.N. - Africa Unchained—Blueprint for Africa's Future
2005, Current Analysis

Diamond, Jared - Guns, Germs & Steel
1999 The World as it developed

Hochschild, Adam - King Leopold's Ghost
1999, "A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa"

Mandela, Nelson - Long Walk to Freedom
Autobiographical, 1994, South Africa

Parkenham, Thomas - Scramble for Africa
1991 Africa and Europe, 1876 to 1912

Personal Experience and Report

Burgess, Alan - Daylight Must Come
Biographical 1975, D R Congo

Cotlow, Lewis - Zanzabuku (Dangerous Safari)
1956, East Africa

Easterly, William: The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest have Done so Much Ill and so Little Good
2006, A very readable insiders view of the workings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund with a helpful critique of their misguided and unsuccessful efforts.

Kyemba, Henry - A State of Blood
1974, Uganda, Idi Amin

Maathai, Wangari: Unbowed
2006, The Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2004 writes of her efforts to involve thousands of women in planting millions of trees in the Green Belt Movement. Her chief opposition came from her own Kenyan government and she realized the importance of building democratic processes. Every activist who dreams of establishing democracies in the developing countries should read this book. The message is that it must be done on the inside. It can’t be done by outsiders. It would be well for this book to be read by every American woman. It is on a par with Nelson Mandela's autobiography.

Nazer, Mende & Lewis, Damien - Slave, My True Story
2003, Contemporary, Sudan

Owens, Mark & Delia - Cry of the Kalahari
1984, Botswana

Theroux, Paul - Dark Star Safari
2003, Overland from Cairo to Capetown

Van der Post, Lauren - Lost World of the Kalahari
Botswana, the San or Bushmen, A Classic, 1958

Novels

Kingsolver, Barbara - The Poisonwood Bible
1999 D.R. Congo

Paton, Alan Paton - Cry the Beloved Country
1948, South Africa and Apartheid

Smith, Alex. McCall: The #1 Ladies Detective Agency, 1998
also: . . . . . . . . . . . Tears of the Giraffe, 2000
The first 2 books of a delightful and popular series taking place in Botswana. The 8th in the series, The Good Husband of Zebra Drive, has been released in April of 2007. The Miracle at Speedy Motors (2008) is 9th in the series and continues in his inimitable style.

Unity Dow (born in 1959) has been an ardent and effective activist for women and children and human rights in her native Botswana and the world. In 1998 she became a Judge in the High Court of Botswana. Since then she has written 4 novels which in essence carry on her crusade for human rights by shedding light on conflicts between traditional and modern ways of life in Africa. The stories are relatively short, seemingly very authentic, and compelling in their message, somewhat reminiscent of the style of Alex Mc Call Smith.

Far and Beyond (2000) is the story of generational differences in a family which suffers loss of a son and brother to AIDS.

The Screaming of the Innocent (2003) describes the far-reaching effects of a brutal ritual murder.

Juggling Truths (2003) is told in first person by a young girl growing up in a traditional loving family facing “truths” in her school and two community churches which conflict with traditional values and contradict each other.

The Heavens May Fall (2006) follows a bright young woman lawyer working for a Children’s Agency dealing with problems in understanding differences between customary and written laws. She goes to court for abused women and children.

** To receive a thumbnail sketch of any of the above books, refer to the author of these games. See the contact page of this website.