The Fate of Africa: A History of Fifty Years of Independence
by Martin Meredith
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Book Summary Information
Author: Martin MeredithEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-06-26
ISBN: 1586483986
Number of pages: 768
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Book Reviews of The Fate of Africa: A History of Fifty Years of Independence
Book Review: A Must Read but not an Only Read
Summary: 4 Stars
I found "The Fate of Africa" to be the most informative book I have ever read on post-colonial Africa. Mr. Meredith's book is well written, highly readable, and enormously engaging -- he tells the story of African independence in great detail and in chronological order. The book also provides insights into a lot of the social dynamics and ideologies which were born or built in Africa. Such ideologies include the pan-African movement which was embodied as well as exploited by many of the early nationalist regimes, and the Islamic fundamentalist movement that was started in Egypt later spreading to places like Algeria and Sudan. The window into the origins of the Islamic fundamentalist movement is particularly interesting, it is primarily a nationalist phenomena not an outgrowth of traditional muslim theology.
Still, however informative "The Fate of Africa" might be, it does have a few flaws. The author dwells heavily on the misconduct of government and dictators in most African nations, indeed, to the point that the reader might become apathetic. Additionally, his focus is primarily on political struggles and difficulties. Thus, while Mr. Meredith's book provides an invaluable resouce for understanding the political and economic problems facing Africa it does not provide a particularly personable narrative, or a good understanding of indiginous African society.
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