Understanding Contemporary Africa

by April A. Gordon (Editor), Donald L. Gordon (Editor)

Book by

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Africa, Politics, Sociology, Anthropology, Cultural Studies

477 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1996

Reviews

[Aliza · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid but somewhat uneven introduction to Africa. The chapters are thematic, with topics like the role of women, religion, International Relations, and the environment from the pre-colonial era to the present day. In general each section is quite informative, but some chapters seem more vital than others. For example, the chapter on African Literature is 40 pages long, and really amounts to little more than a listing of authors - there's not much substance. By contrast, the chapter on African history was a bit too general and could definitely have been extended. I think this would work best in combination with works of social history (try Martin Meredith's The Fate of Africa) or personal narratives by African authors. On its own, its a bit academic. It did help me to better understand the role of the IMF and World Bank in developing nations, and the complexities involved in giving and managing aid.

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great introduction to contemporary Africa. It manages to quickly summarize historical underpinnings and cover a relatively wide array of current affairs. As with any compilation, some sections are better than others. Unfortunately April Gordon herself is on the low end of the contributors. She actually writes, "Africans hate all generalizations about Africa." Maybe she is trying to be humorous...

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this in undergrad (parts of it anyway) for my class Economic Systems in Africa. It's an interesting read.

[Haby · Rating 4 out of 5]

good book

[Bettie]

gbox

[Ivan Kapersky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent radiography to the African continent, information is in congruence as Willian Hance studies and research about Africa in Population Migration and Urbanization in Africa.