African Ark: People and Ancient Cultures of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa (Hardcover)

by Carol Beckwith (Author), Angela Fisher (Author), Graham Hancock (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Two talented photographers focus on the Horn of Africa--an "ark" that shelters an astonishing variety of landscapes and human societies. Starting with the Christian Amharas of Lalibela and Axum and the Falashas of Lake Tana, they complete an arc that takes them to the seacoast of Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia, as far south as Lamu in Kenya, and finally to the remote peoples of the Southeast who still engage in stick fighting, body painting, scarification and the wearing of lip plates. Other handsome peoples they depict include the desert-dwelling Afar, Beja and Rashaida, the Somali nomads of Ogaden and the ecstatic Oromo (formerly Galla) pilgrims of the Bale Mountains. As in Beckwith and Fisher's previous, award-winning books ( Maasai and Nomads of the Niger ), their magnificent color photos (240 of them here) are the glory of this beautifully designed volume. Hancock's ( Ethiopia ) useful if uninspired text covers indigenous societies, cultures, crafts, religions, sacred places, dances, and cycles of life and death.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Beckwith and Fisher's visually stunning pictorials of African cultures (they have worked separately on earlier books about the Masai and Fulani) combine beautiful photos of people and objects with easy-to-read explanatory texts sprinkled with charming line drawings. Joining forces here, with the literary assistance of journalist Hancock, they focus on probably the least understood and most "exotic" African region. Each chapter covers a different people among Ethiopia's remarkably diverse cultures: Coptic Christians, Falasha Jews, Somali Moslems, and traditional animists. Lacking an index and extensive bibliography, the book's value as a research tool is limited, yet as visual documentation of little-known cultures and art forms it is strongly recommended.
- Eugene C. Burt, Seattle
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 310 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams; First Edition edition (September 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810919028
• ISBN-13: 978-0810919020
• Product Dimensions: 14.2 x 10.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #604,714 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #56 in	Books > History > Africa > Ethiopia
  #58 in	Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Anthropology > Ethnology

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most vivid pictorial book on Ethiopia, October 1, 1999

By A Customer

After seeing this book in the hands of friends, I am glad to finally have it in my special book collections. In this book photographers Beckwith and Fisher have truely captured the fierce, exotic, and natural beauty of the people of Ethiopia and the surrounding area. Indeed, Hancock covers the history of this mystic land dating back to early pre-christian era. Anyone with a sincere interest to learn the people and cultures of Ethiopia should have this amazing book in their possession!

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, March 12, 2000

By A Customer

A friend lent me this book some years ago and I immediately bought a copy. It is not a cheap book, but if I had a dollar for every time a visitor got lost in it, it would have been paid for many times over.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ethiopia: Deep History, March 6, 2004

By	Peter Breeden (West Marin County, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

A land now wracked by famine and war, the region of Ethiopia and the surrounding countries which make up the Horn of Africa, have a rich and diverse cultural history. The coastal areas have been in close contact with the outside world for centuries, linked by trade with Arabia, China and India. Ethiopia itself is situated in more remote highlands and has enjoyed protection from foreign influences, for an even longer time. The are archaic forms of Christianity and Judaism, pastoralist groups, hunter-gatherers and farmers and they have lived undisturbed for hundreds of years. Until the twentieth century, Ethiopia was the only African country to have successfully avoided Western imperialism.

And here is a book of superb photographs of the land and its different peoples by Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher. The text by Graham Hancock is unusually helpful giving the historical background so necessary to take in these startling photos. A wonderful book, beautifully designed, published by Abrams, it is well worth its published price of $75.00 to anyone interested in Africa.