The Best African History Books 2025

1. Facing Mount Kenya, (Paperback)

With an Introduction by Bronislav Malinkowski, Facing Mount Kenya is a central document of the highest distinction in anthropological literature, an invaluable key to the structure of African society and the nature of the African mind. Facing Mount Kenya is not only a formal study of life and death, work and play, sex and the family in one of the greatest tribes of contemporary Africa, but a work of considerable literary merit. The very sight and sound of Kikuyu tribal life presented here are at once comprehensive and intimate, and as precise as they are compassionate.

Facing Mount Kenya, (Paperback) Author: Vintage ISBN: 9780394702100 Format: Paperback Publication Date: 1962-02-12 Page Count: 352

2. African Nights: True Stories from the Author of I Dreamed of Africa, (Paperback)

Lyrical, beautifully written tales of life in Africa Africa evokes a deep sense of mystery. It is a place that retains what most of the world has lost: space, roots, traditions, awesome beauty, true wilderness, rare animals, and extraordinary people. In this wonderful and haunting collection of stories, Kuki Gallmann writes of her life in Africa, where every day brings challenge and adventure. African Nights is a treasury of memories, in which fascinating people and places are brought to life. The healing powers Africa can have on those who embrace the land as a place of mystery, superstition, danger, and beauty.

African Nights: True Stories from the Author of I Dreamed of Africa, (Paperback) Author: William Morrow & Company ISBN: 9780060954833 Format: Paperback Publication Date: 2000-03-22 Page Count: 336

3. The White Nile, (Paperback)

\"A truly great work--massive, monumental. . . . A wonderful story of heroism, a superb feat of research. . . . The best book of its kind.\" --Baltimore Sun Relive all the thrills and adventure of Alan Moorehead's classic bestseller The White Nile--the daring exploration of the Nile River in the second half of the nineteenth century, which was at that time the most mysterious and impenetrable region on earth. Capturing in breathtaking prose the larger-than-life personalities of such notable figures as Stanley, Livingstone, Burton and many others, The White Nile remains a seminal work in tales of discovery and escapade, filled with incredible historical detail and compelling stories of heroism and drama.

The White Nile, (Paperback) Author: Harper Perennial ISBN: 9780060956394 Format: Paperback Publication Date: 2000-10-17 Page Count: 448

4. Africa : A Biography of the Continent (Paperback)

In 1978, paleontologists in East Africa discovered the earliest evidence of our divergence from the apes: three pre-human footprints, striding away from a volcano, were preserved in the petrified surface of a mudpan over three million years ago. Out of Africa, the world's most ancient and stable landmass, Homo sapiens dispersed across the globe. And yet the continent that gave birth to human history has long been woefully misunderstood and mistreated by the rest of the world. In a book as splendid in its wealth of information as it is breathtaking in scope, British writer and photojournalist John Reader brings to light Africa's geology and evolution, the majestic array of its landforms and environments, the rich diversity of its peoples and their ways of life, the devastating legacies of slavery and colonialism as well as recent political troubles and triumphs. Written in simple, elegant prose and illustrated with Reader's own photographs, Africa: A Biography of the Continent is an unforgettable book that will delight the general reader and expert alike.

In 1978, paleontologists in East Africa discovered the earliest evidence of our divergence from the apes: three pre-human footprints, striding away from a volcano, were preserved in the petrified surface of a mudpan over three million years ago. Out of Africa, the world's most ancient and stable landmass, Homo sapiens dispersed across the globe. And yet the continent that gave birth to human history has long been woefully misunderstood and mistreated by the rest of the world. In a book as splendid in its wealth of information as it is breathtaking in scope, British writer and photojournalist John Reader brings to light Africa's geology and evolution, the majestic array of its landforms and environments, the rich diversity of its peoples and their ways of life, the devastating legacies of slavery and colonialism as well as recent political troubles and triumphs. Written in simple, elegant prose and illustrated with Reader's own photographs, Africa: A Biography of the Continent is an unforgettable book that will delight the general reader and expert alike.

5. Scramble for Africa..., (Paperback)

White Man's Conquest of the Dark Continent from 1876 to 1912

Scramble for Africa..., (Paperback) Author: Harper Perennial ISBN: 9780380719990 Format: Paperback Publication Date: 1992-12-01 Page Count: 800

6. Pre-Owned Political Power in Pre-Colonial Buganda (Eastern African Studies): Economy, Society, and Warfare in the Nineteenth Century Paperback

9780821414781. Pre-Owned: Good condition. Trade paperback. Language: English. Pages: 288. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 288 p. Eastern African Studies. Blessed with fertile and well-watered soil, East Africa's kingdom of Buganda supported a relatively dense population and became a major regional power by the mid-nineteenth century. This complex and fascinating state has also long been in need of a thorough study that cuts through the image of autocracy and military might.Political

ISBN: 9780821414781 Condition: Pre-Owned: Good Trade paperback Language: English Pages: 288 Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 288 p. Eastern African Studies. Blessed with fertile and well-watered soil, East Africa's kingdom of Buganda supported a relatively dense population and became a major regional power by the mid-nineteenth century. This complex and fascinating state has also long been in need of a thorough study that cuts through the image of autocracy and military might.Political

7. The Lives of Beryl Markham: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet

Drawing on her own long association with Markham, as well as diaries, letters, and interviews, Errol Trzebinski unravels the complexities of one of the century's great personalities. Markham's memoir, West with the Night, was rediscovered in 1983 and became an instant bestseller, though shadowed by rumors that Markham was not the actual author. Trzebinski here puts the question of authorship to rest, as she answers many other questions about Markham in this riveting true story of courage, rivalry, sexual intrigue, and revenge.

The Lives of Beryl Markham, (Paperback) Author: W. W. Norton & Company ISBN: 9780393312522 Format: Paperback Publication Date: 1995-03-01 Page Count: 450

8. Africa Since 1940

Bridges colonial and post-colonial history to explain the effects of political independence on the populace.

Africa Since 1940

9. A Bed Called Home : Life In The Migrant Labour Hostels of Cape Town (Paperback)

In the last three years the migrant labor hostels of South Africa, particularly those in the Transvaal, have gained international notoriety as theaters of violence. For many years they were hidden from public view and neglected by the white authorities. Now, it seems, hostel dwellers may have chosen physical violence to draw attention to the structural violence of their appalling conditions of life. Yet we should not lose sight of the fact that the majority of hostel dwellers are peace-loving people who have over the years developed creative strategies to cope with their impoverished and degrading environment. In this challenging study, Dr. Mamphela Ramphele documents the life of the hostel dwellers of Cape Town, for whom a bed is literally a home for both themselves and their families. Elaborating the concept of space in its many dimensions-not just physical, but political, ideological, social, and economic as well-she emphasizes the constraints exerted on hostel dwellers by the limited spaces they inhabit. At the same time, she argues that within these constraints people have managed to find room for manoeuvre, and in her book explores the emancipatory possibilities of their environment. The text is illustrated with a number of black-and-white photographs taken by Roger Meintjes in the townships and hostels.

In the last three years the migrant labor hostels of South Africa, particularly those in the Transvaal, have gained international notoriety as theaters of violence. For many years they were hidden from public view and neglected by the white authorities. Now, it seems, hostel dwellers may have chosen physical violence to draw attention to the structural violence of their appalling conditions of life. Yet we should not lose sight of the fact that the majority of hostel dwellers are peace-loving people who have over the years developed creative strategies to cope with their impoverished and degrading environment. In this challenging study, Dr. Mamphela Ramphele documents the life of the hostel dwellers of Cape Town, for whom a bed is literally a home for both themselves and their families. Elaborating the concept of space in its many dimensions—not just physical, but political, ideological, social, and economic as well—she emphasizes the constraints exerted on hostel dwellers by the limited spaces they inhabit. At the same time, she argues that within these constraints people have managed to find room for manoeuvre, and in her book explores the emancipatory possibilities of their environment. The text is illustrated with a number of black-and-white photographs taken by Roger Meintjes in the townships and hostels.

10. Magomero: Portrait of an African Village, (Paperback)

An insider's view of African historians' principal concerns--the slave trade, Christian missions, colonialism, land alienation and nationalism--is presented through this personalized account of a Malawi village from 1859 to the present.

Magomero: Portrait of an African Village, (Paperback) Author: Cambridge University Press ISBN: 9780521389099 Format: Paperback Publication Date: 1989-09-29 Page Count: 284