The Fate of Africa: A History of Fifty Years of Independence |
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The Fate of Africa: A History of Fifty Years of Independence
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by Martin Meredith
Sales Rank: 11286
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List Price: $21.95
$14.93
At Amazon
on 9-12-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Paperback with 768 pages
Published by: PublicAffairs June 26, 2006
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 1586483986
ISBN 13 Number: 978-1586483982
Book Dimensions:
9.2 x 5.9 x 1.8 inches
Weighs: 2.2 pounds
Reader Reviews
This review is from: The Fate of Africa: From the Hopes of Freedom to the Heart of Despair (Hardcover)
In its 750 pages, this book thoroughly and meticulously charts the history of Africa since independence. Dealing with every single country, it explores and analyses the reasons for the continent's dismal failure. Although it provides a plethora of facts and figures, the work is an accessible and compelling read as it charts the bitter history of 50 years of independence from its hopeful beginnings to today's poverty and despair. Some passages may however upset the sensitive reader. Africa has been cursed with corrupt and incompetent leaders who never cared for their people. There have been at least forty successful and many more unsuccessful coup attempts over the past five decades, whilst the latest fashion is to hold sham elections as happened recently in Zimbabwe. Wherever there are natural resources like oil, the money ends up in the pockets of small ruling cliques while most ordinary people live in misery. The rest of Africa has followed Ghana's example. The first African state to gain independence in 1957, the country was bankrupt within 8 years. Upon taking power, African leaders appointed their cronies in government instead of properly trained civil servants, of which there weren't many to begin with. These ruling elites indulged in corruption, oppression and bribery from the beginning. Today the whole continent produces less than Mexico. The rogue's gallery of African despots includes Amin, Bokassa, Mobutu, Nyerere, Banda, Mugabe, Kaunda, Kenyatta, Mengistu, Nasser, Nguema and Nkrumah. The extent of the corruption has given rise to the term Kleptocracy. Meredith also looks at other reasons for the failure of Africa, for example rapid population increases and trade protectionism in the West. The pattern set by Ghana is still repeating, leading to coups d'etat, oppression, misery, murder, refugees and the collapse of civil society. In the 1990s there was the tragedy of Rwanda and most recently, the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. Throwing money at the problem has never resolved anything but may instead have made things worse. Africa has had the equivalent of six Marshall Plans but most of the money ends up in overseas bank accounts. The author points out the relentless tide of graft that characterizes government and business in Africa. Meredith also looks at the exceptions, like Botswana, South Africa and Senegal. These countries are multiparty democracies with well-run economies. They represent some hope that Africa might one day become a decent place to live. The book includes maps, black & white photographs, explanatory notes and bibliographic references. Well-researched and well-written, it will remain the standard work on the modern history of Africa for a long time to come.
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The Fate of Africa: A History of Fifty Years of Independence
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Price: $14.93
Updated on 9-12-2008.
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