The Great Lakes of Africa: Two Thousand Years of History [Paperback]

Jean-Pierre Chrétien (Author), Scott Straus (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 18, 2006

Though the genocide of 1994 catapulted Rwanda onto the international stage, English-language historical accounts of the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa--which encompasses Burundi, eastern Congo, Rwanda, western Tanzania, and Uganda--are scarce. Drawing on colonial archives, oral tradition, archeological discoveries, anthropologic and linguistic studies, and his thirty years of scholarship, Jean-Pierre Chrétien offers a major synthesis of the history of the region, one still plagued by extremely violent wars. This translation brings the work of a leading French historian to an English-speaking audience for the first time.Chrétien retraces the human settlement and the formation of kingdoms around the sources of the Nile, which were "discovered" by European explorers around 1860. He describes these kingdoms' complex social and political organization and analyzes how German, British, and Belgian colonizers not only transformed and exploited the existing power structures, but also projected their own racial categories onto them. Finally, he shows how the independent states of the postcolonial era, in particular Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda, have been trapped by their colonial and precolonial legacies, especially by the racial rewriting of the latter by the former.Today, argues Chrétien, the Great Lakes of Africa is a crucial region for historical research--not only because its history is fascinating but also because the tragedies of its present are very much a function of the political manipulations of its past.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Chretien brings three decades of scholarship and corresponding expertise to this comprehensive history..." Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A feast of information and analysis." Gail M. Gerhart Foreign Affairs

"Africa enthusiasts will appreciate the maps of the Great Lakes..." Mary H. Meier Boston Globe

"...anyone with an ancient interest in African affairs will benefit from this analysis." Kirkus Reviews

"Chretien has undertaken the formidable task of tracing the roots of the region's violence..." John Shattuck The New York Times

"A feast of information and analysis." Gail M. Gerhart Foreign Affairs

"Africa enthusiasts will appreciate the maps of the Great Lakes..." Mary H. Meier Boston Globe

"...anyone with an ancient interest in African affairs will benefit from this analysis." Kirkus Reviews

"Chretien has undertaken the formidable task of tracing the roots of the region's violence..." John Shattuck The New York Times

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 503 pages
• Publisher: Zone (August 18, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1890951358
• ISBN-13: 978-1890951351
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #842,808 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #19 in Books > History > Africa > Burundi
  • #45 in Books > History > Africa > Uganda
  • #60 in Books > History > Africa > Tanzania

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5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensable for understanding the 1994 Rwandan genocide, September 19, 2011

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This review is from: The Great Lakes of Africa: Two Thousand Years of History (Paperback)

I've read a number of books on Rwanda and in particular the 1994 genocide. This book goes back in time two-thousand years describing what is known and postulated about east-central African cultures as they developed from earliest times to the present day. The author is very careful to separate evidence from conclusions and explores every facet of the region's human development from ancient mythologies, early labor practices, gradually expanding and sophisticated kingdoms,colonial contraditions and present day events. This book makes it clear that east-central Africa is culturally unique and that violence there, and all else there, can only be understood when the unique history of the region is understood.