Africa: Dispatches from a Fragile Continent - Hardcover

Harden, Blaine

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0002158892 ISBN 13: 9780002158893

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, 1991

Synopsis

Journalist Blaine Harden reveals the darker, unsightly picture of Africa which is beginning to emerge in the media. Each of the eight chapters focuses on a single country and a single story, using examples and anecdotes to give context and comprehensibility to problems usually clouded by sociological jargon. He has two principal themes: the battle between modernity, with its double-edged benefits, and the tribal way of life; and the way that Western governments seek to appease their sense of duty, or salve their imperial consciences by providing "aid" which in fact often makes problems worse than they were before. Harden was once thrown out of Kenya for his attack on the corruption endemic even in that romanticized country. This book is controversial, and provokes thought about where Africa is going and what it is becoming.

About this title

Review:

‘The best contemporary book on Africa.’ Richard Dowden, Independent

‘This is an extraordinary and frightening book. Blaine Harden evokes with passion, argument , and fabulous stories the destruction of Africa. He is a superb reporter and writer.’ William Shawcross

‘Harden’s “dispatches” peel back the traditional mystique of the so-called “dark continent” and identify enduring African values of family, religion and fellowship. Authoritative, entertaining and mercifully free of giraffes and safari suits.’ Observer

‘An outstanding account of the complexities of the fragile continent. Few writers can match harden’s insights into the continent’s malaise.’ Financial Times

From the Back Cover:

This remarkable and controversial book is the first to get behind the picture post-card presentation of modern Africa. A distinguished American reporter, Harden reveals the true and often unsightly picture of this vast continent. The issues he addresses – the incompetent intervention of Western governments and the battle between the tribal way of life and modernity – are presented through lucid and gripping stories about individual people and incidents Harden has known. He himself was once thrown out of Kenya for the strength and accuracy of his reporting; this book will cause an equal stir in the debate about where Africa is going and what it is becoming.

"This is an extraordinary and frightening book. Blaine Harden evokes with passion, argument, and fabulous stories the destruction of Africa at the end of the millenium. He is a superb reporter and writer."
WILLIAM SHAWCROSS

"Harden's 'dispatches' peel back the traditional mystique of the so-called 'dark continent' and identify enduring African values of family, religion and fellowship. Authoritative, entertaining and mercifully free of giraffes and safari suits."
OBSERVER

"An outstanding account of the complexities of the fragile continent. Few writers can match Harden's insights into the continent's malaise."
MICHAEL HOLMAN, 'Financial Times'

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0002158892
• ISBN 13: 9780002158893
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 333