A history of Africa before independence.
Martin Meredith, The Fortunes of Africa: A 5000-Year History of Wealth, Greed, and Endeavor, Public Affairs, 2014, 784 pp., $35.00.
It is not easy to fit 5,000 years of the history of anything between two covers, much less the history of an entire continent. Journalist and historian Martin Meredith has not only done it, he has done it very well. The Fortunes of Africa is a first-rate introduction to a part of the world about which most Americans know next to nothing, and is an excellent companion to Mr. Meredith’s masterful account of black Africa since independence, The Fate of Africa.
Like the previous volume, this one is marvelously unsentimental. Mr. Meredith has no use for fantasies about mythical black sages and empires, nor does he make a fetish of the sins of the white man. He just tells the story–and it is a fantastic tale of colorful characters and useful lessons.
Recurring patterns
Although the author does not always call attention to them, there are clear patterns that emerge from this history, one of which is the importance and persistence of slavery. Except among people such as the Pygmies and Hottentots who were so poor that they were all struggling to survive, slavery was practiced all across the continent for as long as we have records. ...
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