Africa is on the rise. Enabled by natural resources, commodity trading and the recent discovery of Africa as the last frontier of capitalism by the global market, African entrepreneurs are now being empowered as economic change agents. How can this new...

In this set of essays Walima T. Kalusa and Megan Vaughan explore themes in the history of death in Zambia and Malawi from the late nineteenth century to the present day. Drawing on extensive archival and oral historical research they examine the impact...

At the end of apartheid, under pressure from local and transnational capital and the hegemony of Western-style parliamentary democracy, South Africans felt called upon to normalize their conceptions of economics, politics, and culture in line with these...

"Drawing on sources in Arabic and Hausa, rare documents, propaganda videos, press reports, and interviews with experts in Nigeria, Cameroon, and Niger, Alexander Thurston sheds new light on Boko Haram's development. He shows that the group, far from...

Displayed on European stages from 1810 to 1815 as the Hottentot Venus, Sara Baartman was one of the most famous women of her day, and also one of the least known. As the Hottentot Venus, she was seen by Westerners as alluring and primitive, a reflection...

Under capitalism, economic growth is seen as the key to collective well-being. In Self-Devouring Growth Julie Livingston upends this notion, showing that while consumption-driven growth may seem to benefit a particular locale, it produces a number of...

One of Oprah.com's "17 Must-Read Books for the New Year" and O Magazine's "10 Titles to Pick up Now." "Exquisite in its honesty and truth and resilience, and a necessary chronicle from one of the greatest writers of our time. " --Chimamanda Ngozi...

An incisive look at the causes and consequences of the Rwandan genocide"When we captured Kigali, we thought we would face criminals in the state; instead, we faced a criminal population." So a political commissar in the Rwanda Patriotic Front reflected...

“The fascinating story of arguably the greatest queen in sub-Saharan African history, who surely deserves a place in the pantheon of revolutionary world leaders.”—Henry Louis Gates, Jr.Though largely unknown in the West, the seventeenth-century African...

“Heartbreaking and inspiring,” Nelson Mandela’s Prison Letters reveals his evolution “into one of the great moral heroes of our time” (New York Times). First published to mark the centenary of Nelson Mandela’s birth, The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela...

This book questions the conventional wisdom that education builds peace by exploring the ways in which ordinary schooling can contribute to intergroup conflict. Based on fieldwork and comparative historical analysis of Rwanda, it argues that from the...

Contesting Transformation is a sober and critical reflection of the wave of social movement struggles which have taken place in post-apartheid South Africa.Much of the writing on these movements was produced when they were at their peak, whereas this...

Questions the reasoning behind Western images of the environmental destruction taking place in Africa.This book addresses the issue of how environmental orthodoxies become established, and what the alternative and appropriate approaches for policy-making...

From its small-time origins in the early 2000s to its transformation into one of the world’s most-recognized terrorist groups, this remarkable short book tells the story of Boko Haram’s bloody, decade-long war in northeastern Nigeria. Going beyond the...

Millions of Africans, Asians, and other peoples were the subjects of colonial rule by overseas empires through the mid-twentieth century. By the end of the century, however, nearly all of these peoples had become citizens of independent nation-states...

After his appointment as RC Archbishop of Lusaka in 1969, Emmanuel Milingo became aware of his healing powers. Members of his congregation believed him to be able to liberate them from evil spirits. This work examines Milingo's life and work and the...

The end of apartheid in 1994 signaled a moment of freedom and a promise of a nonracial future. With this promise came an injunction: define yourself as you truly are, as an individual, and as a community. Almost two decades later it is clear that it was...

The trade in oil, gas, gems, metals and rare earth minerals wreaks havoc in Africa. During the years when Brazil, India, China and the other “emerging markets” have transformed their economies, Africa's resource states remained tethered to the bottom of...

Once marginalized in the world economy, Africa today is a major global supplier of crucial raw materials like oil, uranium and coltan. China's part in this story has loomed particularly large in recent years, and the American military footprint on the...

A sweeping history the fortune seekers, adventurers, despots, and thieves who have ruthlessly endeavored to extract gold, diamonds, and other treasures from Africa and its people.Africa has been coveted for its rich natural resources ever since the era...