Description

In a vast and all-embracing study of Africa, from the origins of mankind to the present day, John Iliffe refocuses its history on the peopling of an environmentally hostile continent. Africans have been pioneers struggling against disease and nature, but during the last century their inherited culture has interacted with medical progress to produce the most rapid population growth the world has ever seen. This new edition incorporates genetic and linguistic findings, throwing light on early African history and summarises research that has transformed the study of the Atlantic slave trade. It also examines the consequences of a rapidly growing youthful population, the hopeful but uncertain democratisation and economic recovery of the early twenty-first century, the containment of the AIDS epidemic and the turmoil within Islam that has produced the Arab Spring. Africans: The History of a Continent is thus a single story binding modern men and women to their earliest human ancestors.

Publisher Review

Review of previous edition: 'I have never read a more original, stimulating, current and authoritative text; it ranks with the best creative masters of the genre who defined the fields of African history. Joseph C. Miller, University of Virginia Review of previous edition: 'This excellent continent-wide survey ... is one of the best single volumes of African history that is currently available to the specialist as well as the student. ... ln addition to providing a solid background in African history, lliffe's stimulating interpretations open up many useful avenues for debate and further research. This work is highly recommended for scholars and students alike.' The Historian Review of previous edition: 'I have never read a more original, stimulating, current and authoritative text; it ranks with the best creative masters of the genre who defined the fields of African history. Joseph C. Miller, University of Virginia Review of previous edition: 'This excellent continent-wide survey ... is one of the best single volumes of African history that is currently available to the specialist as well as the student. ... ln addition to providing a solid background in African history, lliffe's stimulating interpretations open up many useful avenues for debate and further research. This work is highly recommended for scholars and students alike.' The Historian