UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. VIII: Africa Since 1935 [Hardcover]

Ali A. Mazrui (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 4, 1994 | Series: General History of Africa (Book 8)

The result of years of work by scholars from all over the world, The UNESCO General History of Africa reflects how the different peoples of Africa view their civilizations and shows the historical relationships between the various parts of the continent. Historical connections with other continents demonstrate Africa's contribution to the development of human civilization. Each volume is lavishly illustrated and contains a comprehensive bibliography.
This final volume of the acclaimed series of African history by African scholars takes on the complex political, economic, and cultural challenges the continent has faced--and still faces--in shaking off the legacy of colonialism. The book begins with Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia in 1935 and continues on through the struggle for independence in the years following World War II. The glittering but uncertain dawn of independence that began in the 1960s has resulted in a quest for development that continues today.
Editor A. A. Mazrui and his contributors address the impact of these challenges for the present and future. In his concluding chapter, Mazrui suggests that Africa still awaits two great revolutions--a sexual revolution in the roles of men and women and a scientific revolution in the skills of its people.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Africa Since 1935 is the eighth installment in UNESCO's groundbreaking General History of Africa series, arguably the most factual and comprehensive source of information about the continent ever published. Edited by noted Kenyan scholar Ali A. Mazrui, this chronicle covers the years from the 1935 Italian invasion of Ethiopia to today's violent conflicts. More than 30 scholars contribute to show how a complex syncretization of Islam, Western language, Christianity, capitalism, socialism, and Soviet Communism ultimately forged a continent-wide response to European dominance that "Africanized Africa." Nation builders--including Tanzania's Julius Nyerere, Senegal's Leopold Senghor, Egypt's Gamal Nasser, and South Africa's Nelson Mandela, as well as despots (Uganda's Idi Amin, the former Zaire's Mobuto Sese Seko, and Ethiopia's Haile Mengistu), are equally represented. The scholars also examine the wars in Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Angola--a violent chaos brought on by AIDS, famine, political mismanagement, economic corruption, and ethnic hatred; they also note the positive contributions of Pan-Africanism and the artistic, scientific, and moral rebirth of the continent. "[B]y fighting for their own dignity," Mazrui writes, "Africans have also shocked the rest of the world into a new appreciation of global human history. That is the story of this volume." --Eugene Holley Jr. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review

"One of the most ambitious academic projects to be undertaken in this century." -- Lindsay Barrett, West Africa

"The overall aim of The UNESCO General History of Africa may be said to be the Africanisation of African history through a scientific account of the ideas, civilization, societies, and traditions of the continent's peoples." -- Chinweizu, South

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 1072 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press (January 4, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520039203
• ISBN-13: 978-0520039209
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.8 x 2.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,158,905 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Politically Correct History of Africa, August 29, 2000

By 

Roberto Munguambe (Maputo, Moçambique) - See all my reviews

This review is from: UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. VIII: Africa since 1935 (unabridged paperback) (Paperback)

One should expect the eigth volume of UNESCO's General History of Africa to be the most disappointing in the series. The previous volumes had shown the motive behind UNESCO's project was not so much to make a history of africa as to make a history africans should be proud of. That is one hard task to accomplish once you try and tackle with the post-colonial history of the continent. One can understand the focus on the struggle for independence, even though some of the chapters read tiring. It is the chapters on independent africa that simply are not honest history-making: terror, censorship and corruption in the new-born african nations does not figure in this book, the mad reveries of african socialism and personality-cult are politely brushed aside. This is not the history of africa as one can tell it today, it is an elaboration on the politically correct which does africans no favor.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars African History by Africans, March 10, 2008

By 

Liang Wen Feng (Guangzhou, China) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. VIII: Africa Since 1935 (Hardcover)

This impressive history of 20th-century Africa is to be commended for bringing together many of the leading African historians to present postcolonial developments from their perspectives. The African historians contributing to the volume are:

Ali A. Mazrui (Kenya)
T. Chenntouf (Algeria)
M. Diop (Senegal)
D.T. Niane (Senegal)
A. Adu Boahen (Ghana)
E. M'Bokolo (Zaire)
L. Rabearimanana (Madagascar)
I.N. Kimambo (Tanzania)
D. Chanaiwa (Zimbabwe)
M. Owusu (Ghana)
P. Kipre (Cote d'Ivoire)
A. Adedeji (Nigeria)
J.I. Elaigwu (Nigeria)
J. Ki-Zerbo (Burkina Faso)
C. Wondji (Cote d'Ivoire)
T. Tshibangu (Zaire)
J.F. Ade Ajayi (Nigeria)
L. Sanneh (Gambia)
M.H. Abdulaziz (Kenya)

As explained in the introduction by Professor Mazrui, the work presents a conceptual overview of the recent African experience, focusing on three aspects: liberation, state formation, and nation-building. Emphasis is placed on the disastrous consequences, extending to the present day, of European colonialism and imperialism in Africa. You will not find here a detailed account of political parties, presidents, and events in each particular country.

I recommend the hardcover edition, which is sturdy and handsome, and which you will want to keep in your permanent library.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Required Text, October 25, 2007

By 

J. Stallworth - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. VIII: Africa since 1935 (unabridged paperback) (Paperback)

This book was required for my class so I had no choice but to buy it. It arrived before I expected and was much cheaper here than it was in the campus bookstore. Overall, Amazon was a great way to go!