Customer Reviews

A Traveller's History of North Africa

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Over all, I've found the Traveller's History series of books to be a bit hit or miss. All are good at providing a good deal of the history of a nation or region, but some do so in a manner that is too dry or terse to make for enjoyable reading. Not so A Traveller's History of North Africa. Covering the land that makes up modern-day Morocco, Tunisia, Libya and Algeria, Barnaby Rogerson does a fantastic job of telling the history of the land and its peoples from the Neolithic era through the Roman Empire and into the 1990s. It is a fascinating tale of survival, conflict, and change that gives a wonderful insight into the historical forces that have shaped the region and its people.

It only took me twelve years to finish A History of North Africa! I started reading the first edition during a charity hike through the Moroccan Sahara, but found the opening chapters as dry as the sand I was walking through.

A couple of months ago, sorting out my unread books, I thought I'd give it another ago before giving it away. Once I hit the Carthaginians something clicked, and I was away.

The book covers Morocco, Tunisia, Libya and Algeria in equal measures, covering a large amount of history in a fairly concise manner. There's a lot to cover - from pagan Carthaginia and the Berber Tribes, through to Christian North Africa, the Arabs and Colonial conquest, finally settling on independence.

It is very much meat and potato history, where the author's personality recedes far into the background. There's little room for quips or analysis or character. Instead, the history is straight forward narrative. Most of the dynasties and notable royalty get a look in, but I'd have enjoyed a few more colourful anecdotes so I could feel the souks, the harems and the Berber warriors of the region. As it stands, I had to give the book a rest after reading two or three chapters in a row.

The author remains neutral throughout until the chapters on colonialism. He gives short thrift to France and other colonial powers, highlighting the long term damage done during the 1800s to Algeria, specifically, but also to the region as a whole.

As an introduction to the region it was a great start. Not sure if it is anymore suitable for traveller's as armchair readers (there's little mention of the sites and cities and monuments a traveller would see on their travels) but the series is a great way to experience history without resorting to ridiculously long academic tomes. Now it needs a third edition so it can cover the tumultuous 2010 revolutions.

I ordered this book a couple of weeks ago, and enjoyed reading the first chapter, but pages began falling out in large chunks, so I returned it. Thanks to Amazon's excellent return policy, I had a new copy in 2 days. However, after reading just a few pages more, pages began falling out again. I will return the second copy and have already ordered an older printing of the same book in hopes that it is bound better.
What I was able to read was interesting and very well written. Hopefully the next copy will hold together long enough for me to finish reading it.
The info for the defective copies:
Publisher: Interlink Publishing Group
Published: June 15, 2000