Exploring the History, People, and Culture of Africa - A Comprehensive Biography of the Continent

bookworm: A lot was unknown to me about Africa before reading this book. The author has described the birth and the life of humanity in great detail originating in Africa and then spreading out to the various parts of the continent. It has been brilliantly written and is the 'go- to' book for anyone interested in knowing about Africa.

India on Oct 13, 2020

C. B.: This book is exactly what I’ve been looking for: a comprehensive, in-depth discussion of all things Africa. The book is so diverse in scope that the first half taught me eye-opening things about geology, anthropology, scientific methods, agriculture, language, iron smelting, evolution, and more. It really is a fascinating read.

Another reviewer mentioned that this isn’t a “curl up and read all night” kind of book and I agree. The writing style is clear and readable, but the amount of information in just a single short chapter is so dense that it takes me one or two days to digest it and consider it. I read 2-3 chapters a week, usually. I am not quite finished with the book but it’s probably the best non-fiction book I’ve ever read, and I recommend it to anyone with a curious mind.

United States on Sep 01, 2019

Coral Taja Mestre: Muy buena información

Mexico on Dec 14, 2018

Jean Michel: John Reader’s book of Africa: A Biography of the Continent is a tour de force, which won the Alan Paton Award in 1998 (a South African non-fiction literary award).

This is history over the long-term and over a broad canvas. However, given its length of 677 pages (excluding maps, detailed references and index) the canvas presents a rich story of how that history unfolded over time and place.

The author undertakes an ambitious task by exploring various facets of that history and their interplay with one another. The components include the backdrop of the geography of the continent whose sheer size permits it to cover a wide range of climatic conditions, ranging from Mediterranean type climates in the far north and south, through sub-tropical and tropical. The earlier parts of the book establish this landscape and its ramifications for human development since the emergence of homo sapiens through to modern times. Deliberately, the author restricts the range of the geography and book to sub-Sahara Africa, since this is the part of the continent that shares a common experience with its interactions to the outside world, especially Europe and the Arabic world.

The...

United Kingdom on May 06, 2018

Amateur Reader: A pleasant surprise is my impression of this book.

It explores the history of Sub-saharan Africa in immense detail and I have learned much more about the continent in spite of previously reading another history book on the same topic. The first 200 pages cover the geological and anthropological history of Africa so it might not be interesting to most people. Personally however, I found it rather interesting as it tied in nicely with the rest of the book later on.

Additionally, the book's scope and detail might seem dry or excessive to casual history readers but if you push through wih your reading it will be rewarding. One strange feature of this book is that it provides little info on the creation of the Boer Republics, but includes a whole chapter on the life of Lubosi Lewanika. Finally, please note that this book covers very little of Northern Africa and focuses entirely on sub-saharan Africa and it ends at 1994 just after the fall of the Apartheid so there will be no information on the last two decades.

Highly recommended!

Germany on Apr 11, 2018

Tommy Lee Brock: This is one the most informative books ever written about Africa. John Reader goes back to the beginning, uncovering why once homo sapiens left Africa they seemed to increase in population by much greater numbers than in their home continent. Part of it is the fact that, believe it or not, there was a much greater supply of nutritious foodstuffs in Asia and Europe than in Africa, were they were generally limited to millet. The author does hint at it, but having read much about the early big game bunters in many parts of Africa, I learned the large number of species of very large or dangerous animals on the continent contributed greatly to the low level of human populations. Whole tribes were forced to depart their homelands because of the depredations of herds of elephant, rhino, and buffalo, as they did not have the weapons to deal with them. Same with outbreaks of man eating by lions, leopards and hyenas,.

In addition, although slavery did come to exist on all continents, Africa was the true home of the salve system, dating back to a period before the European ever existed. In fact today, other than Yemen and possibly Saudi Arabia, Africa is today' still the true home of...

United States on Feb 08, 2015

William: absolutely super

Canada on Aug 04, 2014

Tim F. Martin: _Africa: A Biography of the Continent_ by John Reader is a very well-named book, a through and engaging look at the epic story of this land, from its geological origins to its most recent political struggles. Though a thick book at 682 pages (plus appendices, endnotes, and bibliography), it is a wonderful read.

The introductory section laments that Africa has been "woefully misunderstood and misused by the rest of the world," and that humanity does not properly "recognize its debts and obligations to Africa." A question the author asks, and returns to again and again in the book, is why did the population of humans that left Africa 100,000 years ago grew at much faster rate, or conversely, what prevented the Africans from growing at a similar rate?

Part one was four chapters detailing the geological and paleontological history of Africa, the author noting that the search for missing links is a tradition in African paleontology ("an icon...hunted with fervor bordering on the zealous"), whether the links between reptiles and mammals, lower and higher primates, or hominids and modern humans.

Part two was fantastic, devoted to the origins of the hominids. Hominids...

United States on Feb 10, 2008