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The Gifts of Africa: How a Continent and Its People Changed the World
“The West will begin to understand Africa when it realizes it’s not talking to a child—it’s talking to its mother.”
So writes Jeff Pearce in the introduction to his fascinating, groundbreaking work, The Gifts of Africa: How a Continent and Its People Changed the World.
We learn early on in school how Europe and Asia gave us important literature, science, and art, and how their nations changed the course of history. But what about Africa? There are plenty of books that detail its colonialism, corruption, famine, and war, but few that discuss the debt owed to African thinkers and innovators.
In The Gifts of Africa, we meet Zera Yacob, an Ethiopian philosopher who developed the same critical approach and several of the same ideas as René Descartes. We consider how Somalis traded with China, and we meet the African warrior queens who still inspire national pride. We explore how Liberia’s Edward Wilmot Blyden deeply influenced Marcus Garvey, and we sneak into the galleries and theaters of 1920s Paris, where African art and dance first began to make huge impacts on the world. Relying on meticulous research, Pearce brings to life a rich intellectual legacy and profiles modern innovators like acclaimed griot Papa Susso and renowned economist George Ayittey from Ghana.
From the ancient Nubians to a Nigerian superstar in modern painting and sculpture, from the father of sociology in the Maghreb to how the Mau Mau in Kenya influenced Malcom X, The Gifts of Africa is bold, engaging, and takes the reader on a journey of thousands of years up to the present day.
Past works have reinforced misconceptions about Africa, from its oral traditions and languages to its resistance to colonial powers. Other books have treated African achievements as a parade of honorable mentions and novelties. This book is different—refreshingly different. It tells the stories behind the milestones and provides insights into how great Africans thought, and how they passed along what they learned.
Provocative and entertaining, The Gifts of Africa at last gives the continent its due, and it should change the way we learn about the interactions of cultures and how we teach the history of the world.
So writes Jeff Pearce in the introduction to his fascinating, groundbreaking work, The Gifts of Africa: How a Continent and Its People Changed the World.
We learn early on in school how Europe and Asia gave us important literature, science, and art, and how their nations changed the course of history. But what about Africa? There are plenty of books that detail its colonialism, corruption, famine, and war, but few that discuss the debt owed to African thinkers and innovators.
In The Gifts of Africa, we meet Zera Yacob, an Ethiopian philosopher who developed the same critical approach and several of the same ideas as René Descartes. We consider how Somalis traded with China, and we meet the African warrior queens who still inspire national pride. We explore how Liberia’s Edward Wilmot Blyden deeply influenced Marcus Garvey, and we sneak into the galleries and theaters of 1920s Paris, where African art and dance first began to make huge impacts on the world. Relying on meticulous research, Pearce brings to life a rich intellectual legacy and profiles modern innovators like acclaimed griot Papa Susso and renowned economist George Ayittey from Ghana.
From the ancient Nubians to a Nigerian superstar in modern painting and sculpture, from the father of sociology in the Maghreb to how the Mau Mau in Kenya influenced Malcom X, The Gifts of Africa is bold, engaging, and takes the reader on a journey of thousands of years up to the present day.
Past works have reinforced misconceptions about Africa, from its oral traditions and languages to its resistance to colonial powers. Other books have treated African achievements as a parade of honorable mentions and novelties. This book is different—refreshingly different. It tells the stories behind the milestones and provides insights into how great Africans thought, and how they passed along what they learned.
Provocative and entertaining, The Gifts of Africa at last gives the continent its due, and it should change the way we learn about the interactions of cultures and how we teach the history of the world.
- GenresNonfictionAfricaHistory
552 pages, Hardcover
First published March 15, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 4, 2022
Overview:
Africa is a diverse place that has a long history of political maneuverings, cultural traditions, philosophy, art, science, medicine, and economics. Africa was where the wealth and power was in the ancient world. This intellectual history is usually not recognized because it does not seem very African. Only seems that way after many of the artifacts were stolen or destroyed, leaving no trace of the rich history. Part of the reason is because Africa has a deep oral tradition, which informs decisions and keeps behavior accountable to future generations, but is in question because of the fragility of memory. This book reorients African history to be about Africa, rather than as part of a description of the West. Africa had contact with various cultures. They even had a code of chivalry. Even when considered mystical figures, rulers knew their limits. This is a book of how various individuals from different backgrounds have influenced the world through their work. From the wealth of Egypt to the resistance and activism of the early 21st century.
Caveats?
The book is sometimes difficult to read. Although the author is correcting a bias, the author also has a bias. What the bias indicates is a need to figure out how to talk about Africa without dismissing African achievements and hardships, while seeing how Africa influences and was influenced by the world.
Africa is a diverse place that has a long history of political maneuverings, cultural traditions, philosophy, art, science, medicine, and economics. Africa was where the wealth and power was in the ancient world. This intellectual history is usually not recognized because it does not seem very African. Only seems that way after many of the artifacts were stolen or destroyed, leaving no trace of the rich history. Part of the reason is because Africa has a deep oral tradition, which informs decisions and keeps behavior accountable to future generations, but is in question because of the fragility of memory. This book reorients African history to be about Africa, rather than as part of a description of the West. Africa had contact with various cultures. They even had a code of chivalry. Even when considered mystical figures, rulers knew their limits. This is a book of how various individuals from different backgrounds have influenced the world through their work. From the wealth of Egypt to the resistance and activism of the early 21st century.
Caveats?
The book is sometimes difficult to read. Although the author is correcting a bias, the author also has a bias. What the bias indicates is a need to figure out how to talk about Africa without dismissing African achievements and hardships, while seeing how Africa influences and was influenced by the world.
June 27, 2022
I like the goal of this book.
The point is to highlight what Africa has done for the world.
Many believe that Africa hasn't produced anything useful or innovative since the pyramids.
Although it has been the least innovative continent in the last few thousand years, that doesn't mean it hasn't contributed anything toward humanity's progress.
This book points out overlooked African gems.
Fortunately, Jeff Pearce isn't an insufferable, politically correct man who tries to blame everything under the sun on the white man and portray Africans purely as victims.
Still, at times he lapses into such a tired narrative.
Since I am writing a book about traveling 7 years to all 54 African countries, I appreciated his insight.
The point is to highlight what Africa has done for the world.
Many believe that Africa hasn't produced anything useful or innovative since the pyramids.
Although it has been the least innovative continent in the last few thousand years, that doesn't mean it hasn't contributed anything toward humanity's progress.
This book points out overlooked African gems.
Fortunately, Jeff Pearce isn't an insufferable, politically correct man who tries to blame everything under the sun on the white man and portray Africans purely as victims.
Still, at times he lapses into such a tired narrative.
Since I am writing a book about traveling 7 years to all 54 African countries, I appreciated his insight.
February 12, 2023
Great book exploring the history of Africa. Honoring their scientific inventions, literature development, art (drawing, pottery, sculpture, weaving etc.) and politics. Many important women are featured.
August 3, 2023
I think the author's goal is useful and important - to speak about African gifts without speaking in a European context - but I don't think this book was successful. Almost immediately the boom discusses Europeans as a counterweight and, shortly thereafter, the book seems to lose its way. 3/4 of the way through I couldn't tell if this was a book about African historiography, about non-European cultural apologetics, about a debate against unfair standards of African intellectuals, or about something else. If you told me this was a book about African history, I would have a vague notion about that.
The author doesn't shy from controversy and speaks about the negative aspects of many African and Afrocentric works. Frankly, I'm not sure if that really helps his thesis, though.
There's a loooong intro and outro.
The author doesn't shy from controversy and speaks about the negative aspects of many African and Afrocentric works. Frankly, I'm not sure if that really helps his thesis, though.
There's a loooong intro and outro.
June 4, 2023
Well written, interesting and a recommended read for EVERYONE!
July 24, 2023
A must read to everyone.
January 14, 2023
“So much attention is naturally given to the invention of writing itself that we can easily forget the medium. Even if the Mesopotamians invented writing, the Africans were the ones who freed it. They made knowledge portable, and in doing so, their innovation held the genesis of the democratization of learning.” Statements such as this highlight the general theme and tenor of this ambitious work of history from author Jeff Pearce. “The Gift of Africa” seeks to situate the great ideas, movements, peoples, and nations that came from the African continent throughout history. While the book covers a vast span of time—from prehistory right up to present day—it doesn’t seek to cover every major African civilization, movement, or prominent individual (almost an impossible task). Rather, it focuses its attention on specific great African endeavors that impacted the rest of the world.
While the aim of the book is noble, there were various sections and points of emphasis that irked me. I was especially turned off by the first section of the book, which heavily featured and identified as “African” individuals who were explicitly anti-Black (such as Ibn Khaldun and Ibn Battuta). I disliked how Pearce characterizes these individual (and others) as “African” without even mentioning the anti-Black divisions between them and Black Africans. I was also disturbed by Pearce’s decision to include a rather glowing analysis of the late Ghanaian economic historian George Ayittey.
Despite these criticisms, there is a lot to like about this book. I really enjoyed the information on pre-colonial African democracies and attention paid to “African humanism.” Pearce provided short but concise accounts of the governing practices of the Asante, Oyo, Xhosa, Benin, and Mossi peoples, detailing the checks and balances that existed and the underlying democratic principles employed. Pearce concluded that many of these nations / peoples were more democratically advanced than their feudal European counterparts. He also discussed the “Ubuntu” worldview and social order, as well as Steven Biko’s “Black Consciousness” movement in his discussion of African Humanism. In doing so, Pearce did a solid job showing how African philosophies and social orders have indeed positively influenced the world.
I enjoyed the retelling of the histories of the 20th Century anti-colonial struggles, including Ethiopia’s battles against Italy, the Kingdom of Benin’s and Kenya’s battles against the British, and the democratic “success stories” of early post-independence Somalia and Botswana. In short, Pearce’s book is jam-packed with information and does a good job incorporating historical analysis into the larger agenda of African influence on the world. Nevertheless, the book wasn’t quite what I expected or hoped for.
While the aim of the book is noble, there were various sections and points of emphasis that irked me. I was especially turned off by the first section of the book, which heavily featured and identified as “African” individuals who were explicitly anti-Black (such as Ibn Khaldun and Ibn Battuta). I disliked how Pearce characterizes these individual (and others) as “African” without even mentioning the anti-Black divisions between them and Black Africans. I was also disturbed by Pearce’s decision to include a rather glowing analysis of the late Ghanaian economic historian George Ayittey.
Despite these criticisms, there is a lot to like about this book. I really enjoyed the information on pre-colonial African democracies and attention paid to “African humanism.” Pearce provided short but concise accounts of the governing practices of the Asante, Oyo, Xhosa, Benin, and Mossi peoples, detailing the checks and balances that existed and the underlying democratic principles employed. Pearce concluded that many of these nations / peoples were more democratically advanced than their feudal European counterparts. He also discussed the “Ubuntu” worldview and social order, as well as Steven Biko’s “Black Consciousness” movement in his discussion of African Humanism. In doing so, Pearce did a solid job showing how African philosophies and social orders have indeed positively influenced the world.
I enjoyed the retelling of the histories of the 20th Century anti-colonial struggles, including Ethiopia’s battles against Italy, the Kingdom of Benin’s and Kenya’s battles against the British, and the democratic “success stories” of early post-independence Somalia and Botswana. In short, Pearce’s book is jam-packed with information and does a good job incorporating historical analysis into the larger agenda of African influence on the world. Nevertheless, the book wasn’t quite what I expected or hoped for.
October 25, 2024
An overly ambitious project that I feel does a disservice to the super dispersed subject matter because of the author’s disorienting compulsion to cover everything he possibly can in this tome of a book. Took me almost a year to finish because the good parts were great and the bulk of it was the author manically jumping from person to person, country to culture, African nation to European conflicts in the 20th century?? And by the time you get a grasp on who or what he’s covering he moves on to something completely different all within the same chapter. On and on. I did take away a lot from this book and kudos to the author for the attempt. It’s clearly well done research but trying to make this one book was a mistake. This would’ve been so much better as a series or volumes and would’ve allowed it to be better organized and also better feature all the people and movements it touches upon.
February 7, 2023
This book was a beast and I learned a lot. I'd interviewed the author before and I really appreciated his perspective. I like how he organised this book and I like what he set out to do. I think he was able to execute beautifully. He wanted to present African progress with the same lens that Westerners see their own civil progress and point out how often African history, culture and accomplishment is white-washed or overlooked. He collects so many stories, most of them new to me.
It did wear me out a little in the end. It is over 500 pages and full of names that are new to me. I think some of this could have been edited into another book.
It did wear me out a little in the end. It is over 500 pages and full of names that are new to me. I think some of this could have been edited into another book.
February 8, 2022
Mr. Pearce helps us to rethink the African Continent and its myriad of peoples, languages, and cultures. Africa is not monolithic nor should it be seen as an afterthought merely to be seen as a place or peoples that things are done to but rather as a place and peoples who do things.
October 8, 2022
A very interesting topic, but the scope could have been narrowed a bit to fit in 400-some pages. Covering an entire giant continent from history to philosophy to politics to art, from prehistory to the present, is a bit much.
December 4, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews