Customer Reviews

Africa and Africans

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I found a 1st edition of this while in the Peace Corps serving in west africa and found it to be the best to present a dynamic and interesting ethnohistory of the whole african continent. It reminds the reader often that africa isnt a monolithic culture but a diverse mix of people and histories. This book is an excellent read for anyone looking for more information on the continent and it's people.

I'm going to say it right off the bat. If you are someone who doesn't know much about Africa, but would like to start, you've come to the right book. If you are a teacher or college professor who needs a good introductory book on Africa, this is the one you should turn to. For people who have conflicting images and contradictory "information" about Africa, this book offers a clear, well-written, thoughtful guide to basic information about that vast continent. If you are planning to travel around Africa, let's say---in more than one country---and need background material, this is your book. In short, it is a pleasure and a useful occupation to read AFRICA AND AFRICANS. Though it was first published in 1971 and much has changed in Africa since then, it is a testament to the solid scholarship and perceptive directions taken that it is still one of the best books on Africa that I have seen.

The authors take on all kinds of myths, former and current, about Africa and Africans, not avoiding even racial ones. They demolish most of them. They try to show broad patterns in African geography, economy, politics, and culture, then paint overall African history in broad strokes, instead of going into detail. Isolation from the 'mainstream' of world civilization over many centuries plays a big role in explaining African history. Though north-western Europe was similarly isolated for a long time, there was no Sahara blocking it from rejoining. A reader gets a wide picture and a very solid picture of Africa. There are so many useful aspects of the book that I cannot choose which to describe here. Suffice to say that it was a pleasure to read Bohannan and Curtin's book, which I found in a local book fair twenty years ago and never read, regretfully, until now.

this book was in good shape and was shipped to me right away - thank you

Book was purchased for a Sub-Sahara African History class at Eastern Michigan University, and was a very easy read while providing a wealth of information, as well as dispelling many myths about Afican civilization.

I have to read this book for an ap course in school, and I found the book to be really boring. It's good information, but it's very difficult to read and stay focused. It reads like a textbook.