Africa: Book Notes
AfricaFocus Bulletin
Jul 6, 2010 (100706)
(Reposted from sources cited below)
Editor's Note
This AfricaFocus contains a diverse selection of recent books
likely to be of interest and new to AfricaFocus readers. You will
find, for example, new books by Africa's distinguished elders, such
as Achebe, wa Thiong'o, and Mandela. Selected new books from
publishers such as Africa World Press, HSRC Press, and Aflame
Books. Books on topical themes such as SMS activism and other ICT
developments, on India and China's relations with Africa, and on
xenophobia and migration. And more.
In the topical groups, I have also included several books that are
not specifically focused on Africa, because I regard their analysis
of key global issues as highly relevant in the context of Africa.
I've added brief descriptions for some books, but have opted not to
in most cases, in order to give you more to browse without making
this Bulletin much longer. You can easily find out more by clicking
on the links or just using a Google search.
These are only a small sample of the books available in AfricaFocus
Bookshop (http://www.africafocus.org/books/afbooks.php), where you
will also find lists organized by country and by selected topics
(just added: a recommended selection of books on Women in Africa,
contributed by Kathleen Sheldon - see
africafocus.org.
I've also added a few references to new mystery novels by African
writers such as Kwei Quartey, Mukoma wa Ngugi, and Deon Meyer and
to my essay "Is the Mystery Novel Going Global," on my website
for mystery novels with a sense of place
(http://www.mysteryplaces.net).
And remember, any book you order from Amazon in a web visit that
begins with AfricaFocus Bookshop or Mysteryplaces.net brings a
small commission to support AfricaFocus, at no extra cost to you.
++++++++++++++++++++++end editor's note+++++++++++++++++++++++
New Books from Distinguished Elders
Chinua Achebe, The Education of a British-Protected Child:
Essays.
africafocus.org
Chinua Achebe's characteristically measured and nuanced voice is
everywhere present in these seventeen beautifully written pieces.
In "The Education of a British-Protected Child," Achebe gives us
a vivid portrait of growing up in colonial Nigeria and inhabiting
its "middle ground," recalling both his happy memories of reading
novels in secondary school and the harsher truths of colonial
rule. The complex politics and history of Africa figure in "What
Is Nigeria to Me?," "Africa's Tarnished Name," and "Politics and
Politicians of Language in African Literature."
Nelson Mandela, Conversations with Myself, with a foreword by
Barack Obama. Coming October 2010.
africafocus.org
Conversations with Myself draws on Mandela's personal archive of
never-before-seen materials to offer unique access to the private
world of an incomparable world leader. Journals kept on the run
during the anti-apartheid struggle of the early 1960s; diaries
and draft letters written in Robben Island and other South
African prisons; and more--from a historic collection of
documents archived at the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Something Torn and New: An African
Renaissance.
africafocus.org
Novelist Ngugi wa Thiong'o has been a force in African literature
for decades: Since the 1970s, when he gave up the English
language to commit himself to writing in African languages, his
foremost concern has been the critical importance of language to
culture. In Something Torn and New, Ngugi explores Africa's
historical, economic, and cultural fragmentation by slavery,
colonialism, and globalization.
ICT
Yochai Benkler, The Wealth of Networks.
africafocus.org
Technology trends that are lowering prices for accessing and
producing information are fundamentally changing the
opportunities for African countries to compensate for their
structural disadvantages in the world economy.The phenomenon
Benkler describes as social production is reshaping markets,
while at the same time offering new opportunities. Benkler's book
is a fundamental guide to the new realities of the information
age.
Miriam de Bruijn, Francis B. Naymnjoh, Inge Brinkman, eds.,
Mobile Phones: The New Talking Drums of Everyday Africa.
africafocus.org
Mobile phones have become part and parcel of the communication
landscape in many urban and rural areas of Africa and the growth
of mobile telephony is amazing: from 1 in 50 people being users
in 2000 to 1 in 3 in 2008. Rich in theoretical innovation and
empirical substantiation, this book brings together reflections
on developments around the mobile phone by scholars of six
African countries (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Mali, Sudan and
Tanzania).
Sokari Ekine, ed., SMS Uprising: Mobile Activism in Africa.
africafocus.org
Edited by Nigerian activist Sokari Ekine, who runs the
prize-winning blog Black Looks, the book brings together some of
the best known and experienced developers and users of mobile
phone technologies in Africa, including Juliana Rotich from
Ushahidi in Kenya, Ken Banks of Kiwanja.net, and Berna Ngolobe of
WOUGNET in Uganda.
Don Osborn, African Languages in a Digital Age: Challenges and
opportunities for indigenous language computing.
africafocus.org
This book is the result of several years of observation,
analysis, consultation and synthesis of the adaptation of ICTs to
local languages in Africa. The goal of the Pan Africa
Localization project led by Don Osborn was to closely track the
progress of ICTs in African languages and clearly identify the
priorities that the Pan African Network for Localization (ANLOC)
will pursue in its work plan. This book is a revised version of
the project's final report.
China, India, and Africa
For more books on China and Africa, see
africafocus.org
Harry Broadman, Africa's Silk Road: China and India's New
Economic Frontier.
africafocus.org
One of the earliest studies to call attention to the roles of
China and India, from the World Bank. See excerpts in
africafocus.org
Fantu Cheru and Cyril Obi, eds. The Rise of China and India in
Africa.
africafocus.org
A wide-ranging newly published collection of essays, from the
Nordic Africa Institute.
Prem Shankar Jha, Crouching Dragon, Hidden Tiger: Can China and
India Dominate the West?
africafocus.org
From an Indian scholar and policy analyst, a study that goes
beyond hype into analysis of the policy and class contradictions
in the policies of both countries.
More New Books from Featured Publishers
Aflame Books
Pauline Chiziane, Niketche
africafocus.org
A farce that celebrates the triumph of six women over one
philandering man, this novel uses an age-old African story to
address the subjection of women in modern Mozambique. After 20
years of marriage, Rami discovers that her husband, a senior
police officer in Maputo, has a very big secret: he has been
supporting four other households, complete with wives and
children, for many years. Rami turns the tables. She and the
other women quickly join forces to demand their rights, their
voices, and support for their children.
Africa World Press
Dike Okoro, ed., Speaking for the Generations: An Anthology of
Contemporary African Short Stories.
africafocus.org
This anthology aims to represent the best of contemporary African
short stories written in English. Familiar names such as Benjamin
Kwakye, Tijan Sallah, Zahra Ramij, Freddy Macha, Arja Salafranca,
Odun Balogun, Tanure Ojaide, Jackee Budesta Batanda, Lola
Shoneyin, Mohamed Said Raihani and Omar Akikli are present along
with the new talent of younger generation which includes Kondwani
Kamiyala, Ayobami Adebayo, Prince Mensah, Dipita Kwa, Khadija El
Younossi.
(2) Behnaz Mirzai, Ismael Musah Montana, Paul Lovejoy, Slavery,
Islam and Diaspora.
africafocus.org
Slavery, Islam and Diaspora explores slavery in the context of
the Muslim world through a study of the African Diaspora. The
volume identifies the enslaved population as a distinct social
stratum in Islamic societies and reflects on the ways Islam has
been used to justify enslavement, liberate slaves, and defend the
autonomy of communities. ... A cast of talented scholars
provides a rich and remarkable volume on the crucial linkages
between Islam and slavery in different spaces and places, as well
as historical eras. - Toyin Falola, University of Texas
HSRC Press
Note: HSRC books are available for download at
hsrcpress.ac.za
Omano Edigheji, Constructing a Democratic Developmental State
in South Africa: Potentials and Challenges.
africafocus.org
In this seminal collection, an interdisciplinary team of
distinguished scholars examine how South Africa could go about
building a democratic developmental state, while drawing on
relevant conceptual models and useful comparative experiences
from other countries. Among the chapters of particular interest
are the introduction by the editor Omano Edigheji, an overview
essay by Peter B. Evans on "Constructing the 21st century
developmental state," Thandkika Mkandawire's "From maladjusted
states to democratic developmental states in Africa," and Seeraj
Mohamed's critique dissecting "The effect of a mainstream
approach to economic and corporate governance on development in
South Africa."
Björn Beckman, Sakhela Buhlungu, Lloyd Sachikonye (eds),
Trade Unions and Party Politics: Labour movements in Africa.
africafocus.org
This volume examines the political role of trade unions in seven
African countries and the various ways in which they seek to
influence political parties and the state. Whereas some, like the
Nigeria Labour Congress, push for a political party of their own,
others, such as COSATU in South Africa, opt to engage with the
power struggles in the ruling party. In Namibia and Uganda unions
have been incorporated by a one-party dominated state while in
Ghana, unions insist on being autonomous. There is also a move
towards autonomy in Senegal, despite the plurality of unions with
party affiliations. In the case of Zimbabwe, unions took the lead
in creating an alternative alliance in opposition to a repressive
state.
Pambazuka Press
Chambi Chachage, Annar Cassam, eds., Africa's Liberation: The
Legacy of Nyerere.
africafocus.org
This book includes contributions from leading commentators, those
who worked and fought imperialism alongside Nyerere, members of a
younger generation - and Nyerere in his own words. Their writings
reflect on Nyerere and liberation, the Commonwealth, leadership,
economic development, land, human rights and education. Above
all, they are a testament to the growing recognition of the need
to rekindle the fires of African socialism to which Nyerere was
deeply committed.
Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem,Speaking Truth to Power: Selected
Pan-African Postcards.
africafocus.org
Dr Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem's untimely death on African Liberation
Day 2009 stunned the Pan-African world. This selection of his
Pan-African Postcards, written between 2003 and 2009,
demonstrates the brilliant wordsmith he was, his steadfast
commitment to Pan-Africanism and his determination to speak truth
to power. He was a discerning analyst of developments in the
global and Pan-African world and a vociferous believer in the
potential of Africa and African people; he wrote his weekly
postcards for over a decade.
New Teaching Resources
William Worger, Nancy Clark, and Edward Alpers, eds., Africa and
the West: A Documentary History, Vol. 1: From the Slave Trade to
Conquest, 1441-1905.
africafocus.org
William Worger, Nancy Clark, and Edward Alpers, eds., Africa and
the West: A Documentary History: Volume 2: From Colonialism to
Independence, 1875 to the Present.
africafocus.org
Fatima Sadiqi, Amira Nowaira, Azza El Kholy, Moha Ennaji, eds.,
Women Writing Africa: The Northern Region (v. 4).
africafocus.org
[All volumes of this series are also included in a new listing in
the AfricaFocus Bookshop of books on Women in Africa, recommended
by Kathleen Sheldon, at
africafocus.org]
Voices from Liberation History
Bernard Magubane, My Life & Times.
africafocus.org
John S. Saul, Revolutionary Traveller: Freeze Frames from a Life
africafocus.org
Vladimir Shubin, The Hot "Cold War": The USSR in Southern Africa.
africafocus.org
And don't forget No Easy Victories: African Liberation and
American Activists over a Half Century, 1950-2000 (excerpts and
discount order available at noeasyvictories.org).
Excerpts available on line include the reference list at
noeasyvictories.org
New Books on Migration, Citizenship, and Xenophobia
Aderanti Adepoju, ed., International Migration within, to and
from Africa in a Globalised World.
africafocus.org
Jonathan Crush, Bruce Frayne, eds., Surviving on the Move:
Migration, Poverty and Development in Southern Africa
africafocus.org
Bronwen Manby, Struggles for Citizenship in Africa.
africafocus.org
Michael Neocosmos, From "Foreign Natives" to "Native Foreigners".
Explaining Xenophobia in Post-apartheid South Africa. 2nd Ed
africafocus.org
Roberto Patricio Korzeniewicz, Timothy Patrick Moran, Unveiling
Inequality: A World-Historical Perspective.
africafocus.org
Football / Soccer
Peter Alegi, African Soccerscapes: African Soccerscapes: How a
Continent Changed the World's Game.
africafocus.org
Steve Bloomfield, Africa United: Soccer, Passion, Politics, and
the First World Cup in Africa.
africafocus.org
Chuch Korr, Marvin Close,More Than Just a Game: Soccer vs.
Apartheid.
africafocus.org
Mystery Novels
Deon Meyer, Thirteen Hours.
africafocus.org
Mukoma wa Ngugi, Nairobi Heat.
africafocus.org
Kwei Quartey, Wife of the Gods.
africafocus.org
And for background and much more for those of you who read
mystery novels, here's a short excerpt from my essay "Is the
Mystery Novel Going Global?" You can read the full essay and find
a site organized by country and author at
mysteryplaces.net
Sweden's Lisbet Salander and Botswana's Precious Ramotswe may
have little else in common. But these fictional detectives
created by Stieg Larsson and Alexander McCall Smith are both
harbingers of a trend which is gathering force: the globalization
of the mystery novel. Along with the familiar scenes of English
villages, London and Manhattan streets, and Los Angeles freeways,
airport kiosks around the world feature books set in cold Nordic
landscapes and African cities, in the high mountains of Tibet and
in Brazil's Amazon.
English-language readers can now sample mysteries and thrillers
quickly translated not only from French, German, and Spanish but
from a score of other languages. And although the authors are
still much less diverse than the locations, and many countries
are still unrepresented in the international marketplace, China's
Qiu Xiaolong, Cuba's José Latour, and South Africa's Deon Meyer,
for example, have established outstanding mystery series with
many loyal followers. And Kwei Quartey and Mukoma wa Ngugi, to
cite only two younger writers, have published their first novels
in what we hope will be ongoing series set in their home
countries of Ghana and Kenya.
(continued at
mysteryplaces.net
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AfricaFocus Bulletin is an independent electronic publication
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with a particular focus on U.S. and international policies.
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