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An African History of Africa
- From the Dawn of Humanity to Independence
- Narrated by: Zeinab Badawi
- Length: 15 hrs and 32 mins
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An African History of Africa
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Summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
Everyone is originally from Africa, and this book is therefore for everyone.
For too long, Africa's history has been neglected. Dominated by western narratives of slavery and colonialism, its past has been fragmented, overlooked and denied its rightful place in our global story.
Now, Zeinab Badawi guides us through Africa's spectacular history, from the origins of humanity, through ancient civilisations and medieval empires with powerful queens and kings, to the miseries of conquest and the elation of independence.
Seeking out occluded histories from across the continent, meeting with countless historians, anthropologists, archaeologists and local storytellers, and travelling through more than thirty countries, Badawi weaves together a fascinating new account of Africa: an epic, sweeping history of the oldest inhabited continent on the planet, told through the voices of Africans themselves.
Critic reviews
'Both a tour d'horizon and a tour de force... It will transform...views of the continent, its peoples and its histories. I cannot recommend it too strongly or praise it too highly.' (Sir David Cannadine)
What listeners say about An African History of Africa
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kirsty
- 28-04-24
Spectacular opening of my ignorant mind ! And oh SO interesting
The history of Africa is SO interesting and until you read this book you will be as ignorant and biased as I was . Finally I have a perspective that puts Africa at least on a par with the rest of the world and hopefully now it has a positive future I was horrified to discover about the political interference from the rest of the world - east and west. I am intrigued now to visit some of the countries that until now I could hardly place on a map So much to explore. I think this book should be on school curricula everywhere. The author is the ideal narrator and probably makes it easier to follow than if you read it yourself The many local names would have had been slowing down whilst with her reading - the story gallops along THE MOST AMAZING BOOK I have read in a long while
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Inge
- 20-04-24
Well researched but very predictable
I had been so much looking forward to this book, but in spite of the work that obviously gone into it, it disappointed me.
For three reasons:
- there is very little about Africa's history before the Christian year 0, and what there is, is superficial and well documented in many other popular scientific novels. Either say something new or comprehensive or just leave it out; Wikipedia says it all.
- the story is told in a typically Western way: a list of kings and kingdoms and what happened: "and then, and then and then".
I did not get a sense of Africa at all from this. I wish the author had told the story thematically rather than chronologically.
- the story is constructed as a kind of journey-narrative; the author visits African countries and scholars. But as we learn nothing at all about the author or the journey, this is simply not interesting. I wish the author has talked more about herself and her view as a central notion, or else had constructed the book differently.
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6 people found this helpful