Into the House of the Ancestors: Inside the New Africa [Hardcover]

Karl Maier (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1997 | ISBN-10: 047113547X | ISBN-13: 978-0471135470 | Edition: 1

Experience Africa's vibrant and volatile struggle at the crossroads between tradition and modernity . . .

INTO THE HOUSE OF THE ANCESTORS

"Rich . . . fascinating." --The New York Times Book Review

"A master of eyewitness description and of the telling interview, [Maier] has unearthed Africa's hidden heroes and heroines." --Financial Times

"Maier has written a sensitive and complex narrative. . . . excellent descriptions of the lives and experiences of both ordinary and extraordinary individuals in different parts of Africa." --Richard Leakey, The Times (London)

"A remarkable book. . . . It is no easy task to articulate an intangible undercurrent in an area so geographically large and culturally diverse, but Maier has succeeded admirably. Maier gives us hope that [the Africans] can rebound and even thrive. Highly recommended." --Library Journal

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Although many books have portrayed the problems of today's Africa, Maier, former Africa correspondent for the Independent of London, takes a more hopeful view. His aim is not to sanitize the image of sub-Saharan Africa but to "celebrate the spirit" of ordinary people striving to better their world. Thus he describes trailblazers like a Ghanaian sociologist working to help the elderly, and he explains how Mozambique's once socialist government adapted to the spirit claims of traditional chiefs and healers. Taking issue with the widespread pessimistic view of "coming anarchy," he notes that a country like Sierra Leone has had democratic elections rather than descending into chaos. Yet Maier's sobering portrait of Rwanda acknowledges only a slim hope for peace and justice, and he laments the unrealized potential of behemoth Nigeria. This book is not comprehensive but anecdotal; France's enduring influence or Western policies toward Africa are hardly broached. But even if Maier seems Pollyannish at times, this is a reasonable counterpart to accounts that focus only on conflict.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Maier, a foreign correspondent in Africa for over ten years and author of Angola: Promises and Lies (Serif, 1996), has produced a remarkable book dealing with the spirit of a changing sub-Saharan Africa. It is no easy task to articulate an intangible undercurrent in an area so geographically large and culturally diverse, but Maier has succeeded admirably in revealing how African peoples today are "summoning their tremendous inner vitality...to adapt to a rapidly changing world around them." In clearly written journalistic prose, Maier illustrates his thesis with individuals, places, and events from all over the sub-Saharan continent; there is, unquestionably, a movement to return to the pre-colonial, pre-Christian, pre-Muslim African spiritual beliefs, and the reassertion of the African spirit can be seen in politics, medicine, education, religion, even the military. African peoples face huge hurdles (AIDS, civil wars, famine) as they enter the 21st century, but Maier gives us hope that they can rebound and even thrive. Highly recommended.?Ruth K. Baacke, Whatcom Cty. Lib. Sys., Bellingham, Wash.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 278 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (December 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 047113547X
• ISBN-13: 978-0471135470
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,185,247 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting review of various Countries, November 2, 2000

By 

Olumide Ogunremi - See all my reviews

This review is from: Into the House of the Ancestors: Inside the New Africa (Paperback)

This is an interesting review of various African Countries. The author is a freelance journalist who travelled to Various African Countries including but not exclusively the following Nigeria,Ghana,Mali,Zimbabwe,South Africa,Mozambique,Rwanda and Somalia. It is a story of ordinary people doing extraordinary things and succeeding in spite of harrowing conditions,wars and negligent governments.He tells the story of a new Africa by interviewing teachers,traditional healers,Chiefs,AIDS workers and human rights campaigners. He also tells the terrible story about the collapse of health and educational institutions and the practise of Child soldiers using Sierra Leone as a reference point.He gives a brief historical perspective of the issues giving readers not familiar with Africa and those familiar a good terms of reference to undeerstand the problems. I reccommend this book wholeheartedly.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Africans' stories, April 5, 2001

By 

Ed Gibbon www.congocookbook.com - See all my reviews

This review is from: Into the House of the Ancestors: Inside the New Africa (Paperback)

At first glance "Into the House of the Ancestors: Inside the New Africa" by Karl Maier is a typical book about Africa by a Westerner, i.e., a book by a reporter that has spent a few years reporting on a far-away exotic location. It is that, but it is well done. Maier's book is mostly anecdotal stories of individual Africans, circa the 1990s: a stone-sculptor in Zimbabwe, a medical researcher in Mali, an elderly woman in Ghana, the "only honest man" in Nigeria, all of them doing their best in a changing world. His tone is respectful and basically positive and optimistic, but without being romantic or glossing over the continent's well-documented problems. Like many books about Africa, some of "Into the House of the Ancestors" is devoted the author's theory of why things in Africa are so bad: Maier says the problem is colonialism's replacement of the traditional and indigenous with the modern and foreign. For things to change, the solutions to Africa's problems must come from Africa. Maier believes that in the 1990s Africa began a second revolution that will lead to better things. One can hope. Whether the future proves Maier right or not, these stories are compelling non-fiction reading.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Captivating AND informative, March 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Into the House of the Ancestors: Inside the New Africa (Hardcover)

As an objective reader, without a deep knowledge about African history nor Africa's present situation, I found this book to be incredibly rich and interesting. Karl Maier organizes it in 9 different chapters dealing with major issues in today's Africa. From the spreading of the AIDS epidemic to the rehabilitation of children warriors and the after-math of the genocide in Rwanda, the author covers a wide range of subject matters related to Africa. He also presents numerous heroes that contribute to the building of a brighter future for their continent in many different ways: traditional healers, village chiefs, university professors and political activists to cite a few. The one and important default I found in this book, is the confusing style it is written in. Karl Maier tends to drown the reader with a shower of names, and without keeping a cohesive focus. However, the author, being a journalist, offers us both sides of the story. Overall, this book is very instructive, I recommend it for anyone who desires to develop their knowledge of Africa.