The Fate of Africa: A History of Fifty Years of Independence by Martin Meredith Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Fate of Africa: A History of Fifty Years of Independence
Book Review: An explanation of Africa
Summary: 4 Stars
After reading this book, I came away with a better understanding of why Africa is in the precarious situation it is in. After years of leaders making and breaking promises, the people have had little progress. This book follows the path of this story, which is told in a clear , readable manner by the author who clearly knows his subject matter. From independence to the Big Man rule, to glimpses of hope the author explains it all. Just read the book through if possible, otherwise you could lose track of what you are reading. To help go to www.one.org or www.data.org.Book Review: Fantstic Book - Well worth the invest in time
Summary: 5 Stars
If you are interested in learning more about Africa, this book is a perfect place to start. Don't let the page count intimidate you, Meredith's writing style is very clear and he achieves a perfect balance of facts & figures, analysis, and anecdotes to keep the reader involved and the pace moving.
The entire history of the African continent from Independence to the present day is covered in a very organized and methodical structure. Meredith manages to tell the story of so many countries whose paths are so intricately connected in a very fluid and coherent manner. The result is a very impressive work that comprehensively covers the issues that have impacted Africa through its cycles of hope and despair.
Book Review: Informative and Deeply Flawed
Summary: 2 Stars
I realize that all the previous reviewers are from other parts of the world and I am from the part of the world so peculiarly described by Mr. Meredith --- and maybe I know better, and maybe I am biased. But I think Mr. Meredith has decided to do a powerful portrait in black (if I may say so) of the whole of Africa, and given that his book is almost entirely descriptive, the portrait is powerful enough indeed. The review from the gentleman from Bangladesh states the ultimate conclusion that one might have if one ignores the fact that Africa is still pretty much colonized, and that it is not so much that the Whites are gone as that they are hidden (only their helping hand is made visible). In any case, my overall impression is that the book is very informative on many of the crimes and horrors that have plagued Africa since the inception of the colonial era (with a concentration on the post-colonial period) but totally neglects the best programs of social and political emancipation which, by the way, can be symbolized by Mandela and Senghor only from a Western point of view. From an African point of view, Mandela has not had the chance to be a real leader and Senghor was a puppet of French neo-colonialism. The real leaders were people like Modibo Keita, Thomas Sankara, Seyni Kountche, in the Francophone countries that I know best. The author also ignores the economic structure of today's Africa, which is only beginning to shift from the colonial polarization to the emergence of an internal market, not without success in some cases, and tragedies in others. I think if the author had been less the journalist that he is by profession, in order to illuminate his narrative with structural analyses, he would have given a more complete vision of the continent, and one that would have made more sense of its evolution. Furthemore, living in Africa, one does not necessarily have the sense of violent decline that is described here. I am from a country which didn't know a single year of civil war, or ethnic brawl. There have been three coups d'etat, which on the whole I think were beneficial to the country. We now have a democratic system. I don't like our politicians: I don't think they have intelligent designs for the country, and they aren't at all above corruption. We have dire economic problems. But life there is peaceful, a bit drowsy and has its many charms. I should add that I am from the better-off section of society and that might taint my vision. But really, I do not have the impression of living in the hell pit of bloody feuds and utter corruption (I am 35, and have so far never had the occasion to bribe a civil servant in my country, although I know very well that corruption exists) that emerges from this book, and I'd venture to say that many Africans out of the warring areas will think that the book is a bit much. My general experience is that countries differ a lot, despite the kind of uniformity that Mr. Meredith sought to impose on us in this book. I won't be happy in Nigeria for instance. I liked Ghana. I am not desperate. I think we need peace and time, and the kind of help that works on structures (education and health) not on symptoms (corruption and poverty). Mr. Meredith book isn't helpful in that sense, and that's why although I found it informative, I never recommend it. Book Review: A very readable and enlightening history
Summary: 5 Stars
Overall, this is a very good history of modern Africa. While a lengthy (800+ pages) book, "The Fate of Africa" has a flowing narrative that makes it quite enjoyable to read. The text is supported by the inclusion of a nice selection of black-and-white photographs, and several maps depicting the various regions of the continent.
It is impossible to come away from the book with any attitude, other than one that must regard contemporary Africa as a place of unrelenting squalor, violence, and disease. This is not Meredith's bias, but simply a consequence of his objective reportage of events as they have unfolded since the early 50's. There is no way to gloss over a numbing and depressing litany of despots, massacres, epidemics, and atrocities. There are many villains, few heroes, and a vast and disturbingly faceless array of victims, in the pages of recent African history.
Meredith tries to portray the end of apartheidt in South Africa as a rare but triumphal achievement of the African spirit amidst all the unrelenting horror. But anyone with even a passing awareness of conditions in South Africa today - massive crime; covertly organized campaigns of violence that are leading to the emigration of many whites; the uncontrolled influx of immigrants from poorer regions of the continent straining existing social and economic resources; and the crippling of a large segment of the black population from AIDS - will recognize that the downfall of Afrikaner rule is cruelly unlikely to lead the country into a new era of stability or prosperity.
To his credit Meredith does not close the book with an extended recitation of "how can we save Africa ?". Colossal sums of money have been spent to "save" Africa with little to show for it save the enrichment of a tiny coterie of dictators. The intervention of Western powersis rarely done with the most noble of intentions. There is no clearer example of this than the eye-opening disclosure of the machinations of the French government in Rwanda in the mid-1990s, actions which, as Meredith relates, exacerbated the dutiful slaughter of the Tutsi at the hands of their erstwhile Hutu neighbors.
The task of converting their continent from a place of ceaseless misery and suffering, to one with a promise of a better existence for its millions, lies- for better or worse- with the Africans themselves. It will be interesting to see what happens in Africa in the next decade; I am sure Meredith will be the writer best-qualified to tell us the story as it unfolds.
Book Review: A depressingly repetitive synopsis of recent African history
Summary: 3 Stars
Had I been asked to review this work midway through, I would have given it at least four stars. However, the second half of the book began to read like a repeat of the first. I guess it is not the author's fault that the history of African development since independence has been the political equivalent of Groundhog Day (the movie).
This book is not a bad beginning for anyone just beginning to study recent African history, especially post colonial sub-Saharan Africa. When you consider that in just under 700 pages, the author covers virtually every country on the continent, you begin to get an idea of just how cursory the analysis is in many instances.
The recipe for this book is as follows: Begin with a region sporting literally thousands of disparate tribes and cultures. Mix in colonial powers who create political subdivisions without any regard for these cultures. Remove the colonial powers and entrust governance to native populations with no education and no experience in self government. Add the emergence of local "strong men" and the inevitable ethnic cleansing, corruption and large scale looting of government assets. Lather, rinse and repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat. You get the idea.
Almost without exception, despite in many cases the presence of abundant natural resources and even on ocassion (though extremely rarely) honest politicians, each and every independent sub-Saharan African country has regressed since independence, and usually by an extremely wide margin. It is little wonder that most nations have begun to suffer from foreign aid fatigue in the face of failure after failure.
The author of this work is not without his biases. He doesn't pretend neutrality in most instances and for that I was grateful. There is evil in the world and evil is abetted in an effort to display moral relativism. The author also heaps generous scorn on the United Nations and in particular Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Secretary General during much of the period in question.
All in all a very depressing work. I suspect that after finishing the book, you will be glad you are done because the capacity for misery is finite and after about 400 pages, I had reached mine.