History of Modern Africa (Blackwell Concise History of the Modern World): 1800 to the Present (Wiley Blackwell Concise History of the Modern World) - Hardcover

Reid, Richard J.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1405132647 ISBN 13: 9781405132640

Publisher: Wiley–Blackwell, 2008

Synopsis

A History of Modern Africa recounts the full breadth of historical events that have shaped the last two centuries of the African continent.

• Stresses the diversity of Africa s rich variety of people, societies, cultures and religious beliefs
  
• Provides a thought–provoking and illuminating journey through the slave trade and colonization to the rise of Islam, struggles for independence, and beyond
  
• Puts the colonial era into proper perspective in relation to events that occurred before it and since
  
• Wide–ranging in scope, it provides a framework for understanding such events as the genocidal horrors of Rwanda and the recent troubles in Zimbabwe and Kenya

About this title

Review:

"This is a comprehensive, appealing and highly–accessible history of modern Africa which portrays the continent′s turbulent past and contested present in all its variety and complexity. Its combination of sound scholarship, clear writing and humane understanding make it an important contribution to understanding of recent African history." Bill Nasson, University of Cape Town

"This is the book for which I have been waiting. The author has done all of us a great service in providing such an effective teaching tool."
Richard Waller, Bucknell University

From the Back Cover:

As the world′s second largest continent, Africa is home to a treasure trove of history. The geographical range of its environments and landscapes are only exceeded by and inextricably intertwined with the stunning diversity of its people, languages, and cultures. Much of Africa′s variety is reflected in the dynamic historical events that transpired over the last 200 years. During this period the continent′s population incorporated vastly different systems of polity, economies, and belief systems.

A History of Modern Africa recounts the full breadth of the last two centuries of African history. Author Richard Reid takes us on a thought–provoking and illuminating journey through the slave trade and colonization to the rise of Islam, struggles for independence, and beyond. Readers will see how Africa′s rich diversity began to re–emerge during the post–colonial era and discover the contrasting periods of despair and hope that emerged with it: the comforting dullness of Botswana and genocidal horrors of Rwanda; the bureaucratic routine of Ghanaian elections and violent political upheavals of Zimbabwe. Throughout these landmark events, Reid is ever sensitive to the richness and variety of Africa′s people and societies, cultures, and cosmology. A History of Modern Africa is an essential recounting of the turning points of Africa′s past and the myriad strands of African culture that will shape its future.

About this edition

• Publisher: Wiley–Blackwell
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1405132647
• ISBN 13: 9781405132640
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 408