Both a tour d'horizon and a tour de force, marvelously readable and beautifully written. This is a book that should be read by anyone who is interested in Africa, by anyone who thinks they know all they need to know about Africa, and above all by anyone who has no interest in Africa at all. It will transform their views of the continent, its peoples and its histories. I cannot recommend it too strongly or praise it too highly.” — Sir David Cannadine, Dodge Professor of History, Emeritus, at Princeton University, and author of Ornamentalism: How the British Saw Their Empire
“Zeinab Badawi’s remarkable new book lives up to her dependable standards of excellence. It takes the reader on an up-close-and-personal journey across this unique continent, seemingly holding your hand while uncovering extraordinary gems of truth as she allows previously untold stories to be heard.” — Margaret Busby, editor of Daughters of Africa
“Equal parts gripping and galvanizing. . . . Zeinab Badawi reclaims her home continent’s past in her sprawling An African History of Africa. Researched across more than 30 countries, it brings the dazzling civilizations of pre-colonial Africa vividly to life. A book that feels both long-overdue—and wholly worth the wait.” — British Vogue
“This is a book we have needed: a clear account of the fascinating history of Africa from an African perspective. I learned something on every page. It will leave everyone who reads it better informed and more thoughtful about the vast opportunity that can now be found in a continent we have often misunderstood.” — William Hague, author of William Wilberforce: The Life of the Great Anti-Slave Trade Campaigner
"A fascinating, thought-provoking, and entertaining romp through several thousand years of history. . . . This book is for everyone not only in the sense that we are all, ultimately, from Africa, but also because it is highly readable." — Sunday Times (London)
“Local figures and female leaders loom large in Badawi's corrective history of Africa, in which continental experts and cultural custodians offer a ‘counterbalance’ to Western perceptions.” — New York Times Book Review
“One of the greatest strengths of this wonderful African History of Africa and what makes it so engaging is the way Zeinab Badawi narrates the great sweep of this continent’s rich history as a personal voyage of discovery, and in doing so is able to portray her feelings of the experience, be it touching humanity’s most ancient bones or venturing into the dungeons of slave castles.”
— Kevin Shillington, author of History of Africa
"In a world where narratives about Africa have often been shaped by non-African perspectives, Zeinab Badawi’s An African History of Africa stands as a reimagination of the continent’s intricate and storied past. . . . A must-read for anyone interested in a more comprehensive and authentic view of African history." — Amsterdam News
“Invaluable . . . Badawi illuminates swathes of history that have gone under-researched and under-recognized in a book that is sure to become essential.” — Booklist (starred review)
“As Badawi adroitly proves, Africa’s story is far richer than the West chooses to believe. . . . An African History of Africa is a long overdue corrective that should be studied in every school and available in every library across the West.” — BookPage, starred review
"Important. . . . . Brilliantly connects different parts of Africa into a common historical timeline, highlighting conflicts, trade, flows of ideas, and other interactions that knit the continent together." — Foreign Affairs
★ 2024-11-08
An immersive and passionate history of Africa from the earliest times to the present.
Africa’s representation has long been riddled with stereotypes and errors indicative of widespread refusal to take its history seriously. Mainstream news coverage and cultural productions about the continent prioritize poverty, violence, and kleptocratic leaders. Badawi’s dazzling book rejects these racist caricatures in favor of a “holistic” and “honest” history that treats African history and humanity in its fullness. “I aim,” she writes, “to provide a counter-balance to the many negative perceptions of the continent and its people.” Badawi weaves a lustrous tapestry of Africa’s past that centers the African protagonists whose triumphs and defeats deserve more attention. She brings welcome attention to lesser-known figures, including women, who are difficult to locate in historical sources but who nonetheless shaped history. Famous African women leaders Hatshepsut, Cleopatra, Queen Kahina, Njinga, and Yaa Asantewaa all receive substantive treatment here. Yet Badawi also evokes less visible histories: for instance, her engrossing portrait of events in the Senegalese kingdom Nder in 1819, when women resisted an Arab slaving raid first by defending themselves with whatever weapons were on hand. When it became clear they could not defeat the slavers, they chose death, locking themselves in a village structure and setting it aflame. Badawi’s account of this “heroic sacrifice” renders an indelible image of ordinary African women as historical actors. Relying on local African experts to disrupt misguided Western narratives and emphasizing Africa’s history before European colonization, Badawi takes readers on a personal journey steeped in wonder and care for the continent and its peoples. Her crystalline, sometimes lighthearted writing propels the journey across every region of the continent, illuminating political, religious, and military histories and the personalities that enlivened them. This is not an academic text, as Badawi readily acknowledges. But it is a learned text, one that delivers on its promise of narrating an African history of Africa.
An elegant and vibrant African history that will appeal to novices and experts alike.
A fascinating, thought-provoking, and entertaining romp through several thousand years of history…Highly readable.”
A refreshing corrective to narratives imposed on the continent by others…Ambitious in scope and refreshing in perspective…[and] accessible to a wide audience.”
