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A review by misskeesa
African History: A Very Short Introduction by John Parker, Richard Rathbone
4.0
Simple, straightforward, and "readable," this is a good introduction text to African history. I thoroughly enjoyed it, although I must point out that the author took about 165 pages to say basically the same two things: African history is difficult to recapture because nothing was written down (apart from Eurocentric versions of African history, and even that only after a certain date) and African history is difficult to describe because of the outflux of the slave trade and the influx of European settlers and colonists. There you have it: the entire book in a single sentence. :)
However, that said, I did enjoy the book, and certainly feel that I learned something about Africa. I also came away with a new respect for the difficulties of historical research on a continent with no written language (up until very recently, historically speaking) and where building designs and materials preclude even the possibility of archaeological helps.
However, that said, I did enjoy the book, and certainly feel that I learned something about Africa. I also came away with a new respect for the difficulties of historical research on a continent with no written language (up until very recently, historically speaking) and where building designs and materials preclude even the possibility of archaeological helps.