A Day in the Life of Africa [Hardcover]

David Elliot Cohen (Author), Lee Liberman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 2002

This epic collection is a one-day digital snapshot of the entire African continent. One hundred of the world's top photojournalists, including James Nachtwey and Sebastio Salgado, trek to 53 nations shooting 250 striking images from Cairo to the Cape of Good Hope. Photographs ranging from Namibia's San bushmen to the hip Lagos music scene capture a rich tapestry of African life lived on a single day. All publishing profits from the book will be used to fund AIDS education programs in Africa.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

This latest book in the Day in the Life series focuses on the amazing diversity of Africa. In February 2002, 100 top photographers from 26 countries were dispersed throughout Africa--a continent of 53 countries--for a historic round-the-clock photo shoot. The result is a stunning collection of photographs showing the incredible contrasts in the geography, people, customs, and lifestyles of Africa. The foreword by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the introduction by Kofi Annan provide context for the complexities facing the African continent, from struggles for independence and political stability, to fighting the AIDS epidemic, to developing stable economies. The photos depict a wide range of human conditions, including everyday life in cities and villages, with people practicing a variety of customs and religions. Among the collection are photos of Kenyan runners in training at dawn in the Great Rift Valley, an Arabic breadmaker in Egypt, a marketplace in Ghana, AIDS-afflicted patients in a hospital in Zambia, a "soul-eater" in Burkina Faso, and a manhood ritual in South Africa's Transkei region. All publishing profits from the sale of this book will go to AIDS education programs in Africa. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Tides Foundation; illustrated edition edition (October 30, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971802106
• ISBN-13: 978-0971802100
• Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 10.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #917,261 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Day in the Life Has Many Missing Pages, December 28, 2002

By 

"lenhubbard" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Day in the Life of Africa (Hardcover)

This book is a very nice compliation of photographs but it unfortunately feeds the more stereotypical view of a primitive and backwards Africa. From reading this book, one would be totally unaware of the development present in major cities like Abidjan, Accra, Nairobi and Dakar. One would never expect to see skyscrapers, traffic jams (with real cars), nice homes, factories and schools. One would still be unaware of the cathedral at Yamasoukro, Ivory Coast which is the largest in the world and clearly one of the most beautiful.

While this book is a step up from images of the animals of the East African plains it sorely lacks in the "complete picture" department. It is as if a "Day in the Life of America" was depicted as downtown New York, Los Angeles and Chicago but neglected to show ANY pictures of the farms of Iowa, the ranches of Montana or national parks like Yellowstone.

Because images of Africans seen by many Americans are limited to those already contained in this book, I think the editors missed a major opportunity to increase the knowledge base of their readers. We need to fight ignorance. Most Americans will never travel to Africa. How else will they ever advance from their mental images being limited to animals, native dancers, Tarzan, poverty and starvation?

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unexpected Pleasure, October 16, 2002

By 

Stuart Gillespie (Marietta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Day in the Life of Africa (Hardcover)

A beautiful book! But it was not what I expected. This is a book about the Africa that many of us will never see: the beauty of the people and the land. It is not about people dying of AIDS (although the subject is treated with dignity and respect). It is about people living their daily lives in cities and in the county, in day and in night, with joy and with sadness--exquisitely captured on digital cameras. This is the first Day in the Life book to be photographed with all digital cameras and it is a tribute to what these cameras can do in the hands of experienced photographers--another unexpected joy from this book.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly Outstanding, October 29, 2002

By 

EKD (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Day in the Life of Africa (Hardcover)

It warms my heart to see the beautiful depiction of my homeland in the pages of this book. Africa is too often portrayed in a negative light, and this is a great opportunity for people to see other aspects of the continent that they would not otherwise be exposed to. The Western world has long ignored the AIDS epidemic in Africa, but it's time that we all start doing the little we can to address the problem. Tell everyone you know to support the effort.