The gifts of Africa : how a continent and its people changed the world

Pearce, Jeff 1963- (author.).

Summary: "Past works have reinforced misconceptions about Africa, from its oral traditions and languages to its resistance to colonial powers. Other books have treated African achievements as a parade of honorable mentions and novelties. This book is different - refreshingly different. It tells the stories behind the milestones and provides insights into how great Africans thought, and how they passed along what they learned"--

Record details

ISBN: 9781633887701
Physical Description: xxxviii, 512 pages : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 24 cm
print
Publisher: Lanham, MD : Prometheus, an imprint of Globe Pequot, [2022]

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Introduction -- Comparative chronology -- Building blocks -- Tall tales and confessions -- A historian meets a Khan -- An African Midas -- Church and state... of mind -- African antecedents -- Immortal queens -- The activist -- Two economists and a diplomat -- Words, bards, and "tribes" -- Masks -- Attitudes -- Tanks versus spears -- Success stories -- The worth of words, the value in pictures -- The shadow of Mau Mau and the echoes of Algiers -- The sphinx and the minotaur -- Because Biko -- Trees and oil, cheetahs and hippos -- Exiles and expats -- Concluding remarks.