Five Good Non-Fiction Books on Africa

1. “Africa: A Biography of the Continent,” by John Reader. A wide-reaching and sweeping look at trends and broader explanations for the way things are, covering history, geography, anthropology, biology and politics. While it is a thick tome (some 700 pages) it manages to be engaging, interesting and easy to read. This would be a good place to start for the interested newcomer to African issues.

2. “Africa Works: Disorder as a Political Instrument,” by Patrick Chabal and Jean-Pascal Daloz. A lucid and theoretically-rich exposition of African politics. Describing how systems of patronage operate within the context of modern states, Chabal and Daloz provide powerful explanations for conflict, corruption and poor economic development. It also introduces English-speakers to the rich seam of francophone research and literature about Africa.

3. “Famine Crimes: Politics and the Disaster Relief Industry in Africa,” by Alex De Waal. In this blistering critique of international disaster relief efforts in the Africa, De Waal shows at how “humanitarian emergencies” can be deeply political phenomena. He argues famine is rarely a “natural disaster,” rather it is caused by human conflict, social marginalization or deliberate strategy on the part of powerful actors. He shows that when aid agencies are ignorant of these underlying causes, they can often make the situation worse.

4. “King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa,” by Adam Hochschild. One cannot understand Africa without understanding the legacy of imperialism. Written almost like a non-fiction novel, this history of Belgian rule in the Congo demolishes any romantic notions Westerners might have about colonialism. Hochschild exposes the incredibly brutality of European rule and its impact on the continent today.

5. “Worlds of Power: Religious Thought and Political Practice in Africa,” by Stephen Ellis and Gerrie Ter Haar. Examines the power of the “invisible” in Africa, everything from rumors, sharing of information by word of mouth, oral culture and spirits. The book argues that to understand Africa you have to understand the power of the unseen. Westerners often disregard as irrelevant anything that is not easily empirically observed. But the authors show how seemingly “unseeable” phenomena can have real impacts on politics and society.

If you get through these, check out our suggestions of African fiction.

-By Matthew Bolton and Emily Welty (adapted from article in The Examiner)

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