The Fate of Africa: From the Hopes of Freedom to the Heart of Despair

Передня обкладинка
PublicAffairs, 5 лип. 2005 р. - 752 стор.
Fifty years ago, as Europe's colonial powers withdrew, Africa moved with enormous hope and fervor toward democracy and economic independence. Dozens of new states were launched amid much jubilation and the world's applause. African leaders, popularly elected, stepped forward to tackle the problems of development and nation-building. In the Cold War era, the new states excited the attention of the superpowers. Africa was considered too valuable a prize to lose.

Today, Africa is a continent rife with disease, death, and devastation. Most African countries are effectively bankrupt, prone to civil strife, subject to dictatorial rule, and dependent on Western assistance for survival. The sum of Africa's misfortunes — its wars, its despotisms, its corruption, its droughts — is truly daunting.

What went wrong? What happened to this vast continent, so rich in resources, culture and history, to bring it so close to destitution and despair in the space of two generations?

Focusing on the key personalities, events and themes of the independence era, Martin Meredith's riveting narrative history seeks to explore and explain the myriad problems that Africa has faced in the past half-century, and faces still. From the giddy enthusiasm of the 1960s to the "coming of tyrants" and rapid decline, The Fate of Africa is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand how it came to this — and what, if anything, is to be done.

 

Зміст

The Gold Coast Experiment
17
Revolt on the Nile
30
Land of the Setting Sun
44
Winds of Change
75
Heart of Darkness
93
The White South
116
The Birth of Nations
141
The First Dance of Freedom
162
The Scourge of Aids
362
The Lost Decade
368
The Struggle for Democracy
378
A Time of Triumph
412
PART IV
441
In the Name of the Prophet
443
Black Hawk Down
464
The Graves are Not Yet Full
485

Feet of Clay
179
A House Divided
193
Death of an Emperor
206
The Coming of Tyrants
218
In Search of Ujamaa
249
The Passing of the Old Guard
260
The Slippery Slope
275
The Great Plunderer
293
White Dominoes
309
PART III
329
Red Tears
331
Fault Lines
344
Where Vultures Fly
524
Blood Diamonds
545
No Condition is Permanent
574
The Honour of Living
588
Black Gold
600
A Degree in Violence
617
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
647
Out of Africa
676
Chapter Notes
689
Select Bibliography
707
Index
735
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Про автора (2005)

Martin Meredith is a journalist, biographer and historian who has written extensively on Africa. His previous books include In the Name of Apartheid; Nelson Mandela; Our Votes, Our Guns: Robert Mugabe and the Tragedy of Zimbabwe; and Elephant Destiny. He lives near Oxford, England.

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