The Fate of Africa: A History of Fifty Years of Independence,   ISBN:9781586483982

Customer Rating: 

I have not read the book because it was a Christmas gift to my son. He is reading it and enjoying it at last report.

Customer Rating: 

As someone who has traveled around Africa, lived in Africa and know a little about Africa in general, I have searched for a book that does justice to such a vast and diverse continent. So far, this is the best! If you are interested in Africa and want to know the concise version of the whys and how comes, this is your book!

Customer Rating: 

I lived in Angola for over a year and was able to travel the continent. Would have been better to have read this book prior to being there. Incredibly useful book. Should be required reading for anyone interested in the continent. Masterfully researched.

Customer Rating: 

The blurb from Publishers Weekly on the back of the book has it right: this is but a digest of Africa's woes - it describes everything and explains nothing. I was hoping for an explanation of why Africa has gone backwards as they rest of the world has progressed - why Africa's leaders have been so exceptionally venal, cruel and megalomaniacal, why its people have submitted to such misrule for so long. But you won't find it here.
As a digest of African post-colonial history the book is a fine one, the writing clear and the organization sensible. It just wasn't the book I was hoping for.

Customer Rating: 

It's over 600 pages in length, but it doesn't feel like it.If you want to know why Africa is the way it is, you need to read this book.

The modern history of Africa is traced from the late stages of colonialism right through to 2005. The reader gets a clear picture of the reasons why the various African dictatorships took hold; why corruption is pandemic; hence why despite it's wonderous natural resources, most of Africa is economically stunted.

Martin Meredith is adept at painting the shattered dreams of this beautiful continent. It really is a sad tale, because in the fifties Africa held such promise. Unfortunately, the governments which took control after the colonial powers withdrew were usually just as bad - and more often worse - than what they replaced. Racism was replaced by tribalism and nepotism. Oppression was replaced by corruption.

Just about every country is covered (though some only in passing). My only minor gripe is the liberal use of French phrases in the text - or rather, they are presented without translation. While the meaning of most is self-evident, it is a little distracting and disruptive to the flow of the book when one has to divine the meaning.