Kwame Nkrumah: The Father of African Nationalism [Paperback]

David Birmingham (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 153 pages
• Publisher: Ohio University Press (December 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821412426
• ISBN-13: 978-0821412428
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #125,705 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #5 in Books > History > Africa > Ghana

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nkrumah Lives, April 20, 2006

By 

Elijah Chingosho "Dr Elijah Chingosho" (Nairobi, Kenya) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kwame Nkrumah: The Father of African Nationalism (Paperback)

This is a good book on one of Africa's greatest sons who had a clear vision of the direction that the continent should follow. Nkrumah led Ghana to its independence but as far as he was concerned, Ghana could not be fully independent until the whole continent was free. He also believed in economic emancipation of the African continent as well as African unity.

Nkrumah's pan-African credentials are second to none. His ideas were too far ahead of most other African leaders who were taking advantage of their newly found status to amass wealth for themselses and not to be interested on ideas about African unity or economic well being for their people. His ideas put him on collision course with the strong and developed Western powers. His doom was, therefore, sealed as he was ultimately overthrown in a military coup.

However, Nkrumah's ideas have lived on. The African continent is now completely decolonised. However, the dream of African unity is still to be realised as well as the need to see economic empowerment of the African people. Nkrumah's vision will continue to inspire people towards the realisation of unity and prosperity for the continent and its people.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A shallow overview of Nkrumah's political career, April 10, 2011

By 

Kenneth Quam (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Kwame Nkrumah: The Father of African Nationalism (Paperback)

I was underwhelmed with this book. It provides a shallow overview of Nkrumah's political career. There is very little information regarding Nkrumah's life, motivations or philosophy. There is very little analysis of the significant events of his career, such as the independence of Ghana or his removal from office.

I felt that the book read like an extended encyclopedia article. I learned some relevant facts but did not come away with more than a cursory understanding of who Kwame Nkrumah was, what he stood for, how we hoped to achieve his goals, etc.

I hope to find a more in-depth biography of him at some point.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hopes, Dreams and Aspirations., March 23, 2006

By 

B. Shockley (Richmond, Virginia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Kwame Nkrumah: The Father of African Nationalism (Paperback)

This book is excellent! It provided a wonderful insight into an icon's hopes, dreams and aspirations for his country.