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Title: The Africans by David Lamb ISBN: 0-394-75308-9 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 12 June, 1987 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.44 (18 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: informative AND easy to read
Comment: I read a lot of history books and too many of them are extremely dry. This book is what a history book SHOULD be like. It covers the history of many African countries but reads like a novel and avoids the usual slant that other history books have: the blame for all the problems in Africa is shared among several camps, not just the colonialists OR the Africans.
Rating: 5
Summary: Excellent mix of journalism and history
Comment: Journalism is sometimes called "the first draft of history", and in David Lamb's "The Africans" we see that to be true. This is a very fine introduction to and overview of Sub-Saharan Africa. Lamb mixes first-hand reporting with an effective presentation of Africa's colonial and independence-era past. The entire book is well written, packed with information, and well worth the time it takes to read its 300-some pages. The original edition was published in 1983, before the AIDS crisis and Nelson Mandela's transformation from prisoner to president, and this is one small problem: what is written in the present tense in the book is nearly as historical as what is presented as prior history; its a bit difficult to keep straight when the various notes and epilogue were written. A quick look at a few websites (like the CIA World Factbook) should provide the most recent information. This sort of thing is sure to be a problem with any book that covers recent history. Nevertheless, this book's strengths far outweigh this small weakness. This is an outstanding and very fair look at Africa's cultures, history, politics, societies, and traditions.
Lamb's book starts with an overview of African politics circa the early 1980's and a chapter about the difference between traditional and modern Africa. The next chapter covers some of Africa's "big men" bad and good: Mobutu, Bokassa, Moi, Nyerere, et al. Uganda's Idi Amin gets an entire chapter, as does the OAU. In the next chapter, African coups are discussed. Then the end of the colonial era, Portugal's African colonies, and African relations with the U.S. and U.S.S.R. The contrasts between the Ivory Coast (led by President Houphouet-Boigny) and Guinea (led President Sekou Toure) make an interesting chapter. Westerners' African Culture Shock is the next chapter's subject, followed by a chapter about journalism in Africa. Health and sickness is treated next, then some sense about African money and economies. Finally Nigeria and South Africa each get a chapter.
Anyone looking for a relatively short and easy to read book about Africa would do well to read David Lamb's "The Africans".
Rating: 5
Summary: Africa unbiased and critical
Comment: David Lamb provides a firsthand unbiased and critical examination of the continent from his own experiences which is both complimentary nad harsh it is critique of this continent. I could not put this book down and was surprised that it was such an easy-flowing read. I had anticipated a more text book style approach and was plesantly surprised.
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Title: The Arabs by David Lamb, David Lamb ISBN: 1400030412 Publisher: Vintage Books Pub. Date: 19 March, 2002 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Africa : A Biography of the Continent by John Reader ISBN: 067973869X Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 07 September, 1999 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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Title: Africa in Chaos by George B.N. Ayittey ISBN: 0312217870 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 15 January, 1999 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
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Title: Vietnam, Now: A Reporter Returns by David Lamb ISBN: 1586481835 Publisher: PublicAffairs Pub. Date: 01 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: The Graves Are Not Yet Full: Race, Tribe, and Power in the Heart of Africa by Bill Berkeley ISBN: 0465006426 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: 05 March, 2002 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
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