Fascinating and Terrifying | The Fate of Africa: A History of Fifty Years of Independence ...

Great read! | The Fate of Africa: A History of Fifty Years of Independence


	• The Fate of Africa: A History of Fifty Years of Independence PublicAffairs, 2005 average customer review:based on 68 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Incredible book - very well written and informative

I lived in Angola for over a year and was able to travel the continent. Would have been better to have read this book prior to being there. Incredibly useful book. Should be required reading for anyone interested in the continent. Masterfully researched.

Fascinating and Terrifying

It's over 600 pages in length, but it doesn't feel like it.If you want to know why Africa is the way it is, you need to read this book.

The modern history of Africa is traced from the late stages of colonialism right through to 2005. The reader gets a clear picture of the reasons why the various African dictatorships took hold; why corruption is pandemic; hence why despite it's wonderous natural resources, most of Africa is economically stunted.

Martin Meredith is adept at painting the shattered dreams of this beautiful continent. It really is a sad tale, because in the fifties Africa held such promise. Unfortunately, the governments which took control after the colonial powers withdrew were usually just as bad - and more often worse - than what they replaced. Racism was replaced by tribalism and nepotism. Oppression was replaced by corruption.

Just about every country is covered (though some only in passing). My only minor gripe is the liberal use of French phrases in the text - or rather, they are presented without translation. While the meaning of most is self-evident, it is a little distracting and disruptive to the flow of the book when one has to divine the meaning.

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Great read!

As someone who has traveled around Africa, lived in Africa and know a little about Africa in general, I have searched for a book that does justice to such a vast and diverse continent. So far, this is the best! If you are interested in Africa and want to know the concise version of the whys and how comes, this is your book!

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It was a gift to my son.

I have not read the book because it was a Christmas gift to my son. He is reading it and enjoying it at last report.

An epic biography of post-colonial Africa, and illuminating insight into its current devastating problems, by one of its most authoritative scholars

Fifty years ago, as Europe's colonial powers withdrew, Africa moved with enormous hope and fervor toward democracy and economic independence. Dozens of new states were launched amid much jubilation and the world's applause. African leaders, popularly elected, stepped forward to tackle the problems of development and nationbuilding. In the Cold War era, the new states excited the attention of the superpowers. Africa was considered too valuable a prize to lose.

Today, Africa is a continent rife with disease, death, and devastation. Most African countries are effectively bankrupt, prone to civil strife, subject to dictatorial rule, and dependent on Western assistance for survival. The sum of Africa's misfortunes-its wars, its despotisms, its corruption, its droughts-is truly daunting.

What went wrong? What happened to this vast continent, so rich in resources, culture and history, to bring it so close to destitution and despair in the space of two generations? Focusing on the key personalities, events and themes of the independence era, Martin Meredith's riveting narrative history seeks to explore and explain the myriad problems that Africa has faced in the past half-century, and faces still. From the giddy enthusiasm of the 1960s to the "coming of tyrants" and rapid decline, The Fate of Africa is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand how it came to this-and what, if anything, is to be done.

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