African History of Africa, An: An Eye-Opening Historical Survey of Africa with a Fresh Perspective, Perfect for Winter 2025, Expand Your Knowledge of African Civilizations

An African History of Africa told in a single volume can best be described as ambitious. Author Zeinab Badawi rises to the challenge magnificently. Her broad experiences traveling across the Continent show diligence and pride drawn in part from her Sudanese background, which is hard to fault. Badawi, perhaps better known in Britain than in the U.S., offers a unique approach, launching the saga with a story familiar to many of us: the prehistoric setting of the founders of humankind.

Her East African introduction takes the reader up through the Horn of Africa, a region of constant disturbance, and from there across the northern coast of the Continent, looking at Christian and Jewish settlements as well as the centuries when Islam held sway alongside indigenous religions and lifestyles.

But it is when Badawi takes the southern path, with the Central African countries, that the book achieves its heights. The three kingdoms of West Africa and their leaders reveal a wealth of international trade and connections unknown to many outside Africa. The art, the creativity, customs, and beliefs are all embraced. I hope native Africans will enjoy and admire this beautiful book.