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: Reader Fatigue
Summary: 5 Stars
I read through this book in about three days. After about two thirds of the way through, the endless cycle of killing and thievery tends to get a bit numbing. Nevertheless an excellent post-colonial survey of African history. I was lucky to find such an unbiased and informative book. Unfortunately, I am left with a couple of questions that Meredith doesn't ask: wasn't much of Africa better off under colonialism, especially under the sort of colonialism practiced in the post war years? Isn't one reason why South Africa didn't go the way of just about every other African country that the whites held on to power until the waning of Socialist Pan-Africanism?Book Review: The rule of kleptocracies.
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the definitive history of African independence. Since the first states got their independence, the big man has taken over and used the state as his personal piggy bank. Meredith defines the history of the 50+ countries that make up Africa and tells of the often brutal and corrupt rule of the big man. It is no wonder that year after year, Western governments have been approached about bailing out a third world African government. There are few success stories here: Botswana, Senegal, and Tanzania. The rest of the countries are the most poorest and most corrupt in the world.
This author does not really provide any solutions to the huge crisis that Africa now faces. Poor government and the rule of the big man obviously have to stop. Other conflicts plague Africa such as AIDS, tribal war, and huge debts. It is sad to stay that since colonialism, the people of this continent are worse off than when they were the subjects of a European state.
African leaders blame the legacy of slavery and colonialism, but it now appears they are their own worst enemies.
This is a great history of the misrule of African states. Most of the major and minor states are portrayed here. The author did a great job in organizing the material in a nice easy to read format. Great book.
Book Review: informative
Summary: 4 Stars
Martin meredith did a good job of assembling historical facts on Africa and he presents them properly to the reader. Meredith's only handicap was a slight bias on the few issues where he seemed to comment on and he had a slight pessimistic view (though objective in the face of the facts presented), apart from this, its a very informative and intresting book.Book Review: Very Impressed
Summary: 5 Stars
As a caveat, before I read this book my knowledge of Africa was pretty hazy, so I can't be a very good judge of the facts. However, the book itself is very good. The writing style is very down to earth, and keeps the reader interested; the chapters are a very good length for reading sessions. The book covers a lot of the countries in Africa, which is pretty impressice given how large a continent it is! It really gives you a good flavor for the different regions, and how they're related to one another. I was surprised to see so much treatment of the Maghreb, just because I tend to think of that region as Middle Eastern more than African, but for those without knowledge of the Middle East I think it's good. After all, how can you understand Sudan without understanding Egypt and their relationship?
Another thing I really liked was the bibliography-there was both an annonated bibliography chapter-by-chapter and a longer non-annotated list of books. Thanks to this, it's pretty easy to identify more books in the subjects that interest you.
All in all, I'd say it's a very good book for a general intro to African politics since colonialism. And considering the price, I think it's a great value for the money!
Book Review: Excellent Introduction to Africa
Summary: 5 Stars
I consider myself to be quite aware of the world around me, but Africa was always a topic I struggled to understand. Read this book to understand why Africa is where it is. Truly an expert.
Combine this with The End of Poverty and read the chapter on Africa.