AFRICA - a foreigner's addiction (in no particular order)

A Listmania! list by Mark Meynell "quaesitor" (London, UK)
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
 
Africa: A Biography of the Continent
1.  Africa: A Biography of the Continent by John Reader
The list author says:
  "Brilliant and unique 'biography' of a whole continent - wonderful"
£11.04   Used & New from: £2.36
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)

Africa: Dispatches from a Fragile Continent: Despatches from a Fragile Continent
2.  Africa: Dispatches from a Fragile Continent: Despatches from a Fragile Continent by Blaine Harden
The list author says:
  "slightly dated now, but still as relevant as ever"
£6.99   Used & New from: £0.01
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

The Scramble For Africa
3.  The Scramble For Africa by Thomas Pakenham
The list author says:
  "who on earth did we all think we were"
£10.72   Used & New from: £1.23
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)

King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa
4.  King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa by Adam Hochschild
The list author says:
  "very scary history of european involvement in Congo"
Used & New from: £7.97
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)

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In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in the Congo
5.  In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in the Congo by Michela Wrong
The list author says:
  "a supplementary to the previous book - excellent  packed with insight and memorable images"
£6.39   Used & New from: £0.49
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)

Heart Of Darkness
6.  Heart Of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
The list author says:
  "and while we're on Congo, you can't avoid this book"
Used & New from: £0.01
3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (88 customer reviews)

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Abyssinian Chronicles
7.  Abyssinian Chronicles by Moses Isegawa
The list author says:
  "historical novel covering the years after Uganda's independence"
£5.99   Used & New from: £0.01
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

The Last King of Scotland
8.  The Last King of Scotland by Giles Foden
The list author says:
  "historical novel covering the Amin years (now a film, and i'm an extra in it - ha ha!)"
Used & New from: £0.01
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)

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Country Of My Skull
9.  Country Of My Skull by Antjie Krog
The list author says:
  "chilling account of South Africa's Truth & Reconciliation hearings - made very personal and challenging by the profound affect they made on this Afrikaaner radio journalist"
£6.99   Used & New from: £2.00
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

My Traitor's Heart: Blood and Bad Dreams A South African Explores the Madness in His Country,His Tribe and Himself
10.  My Traitor's Heart: Blood and Bad Dreams A South African Explores the Madness in His Country,His Tribe and Himself by Rian Malan
The list author says:
  "a life-changing book about the racism and fear that lay behind apartheid as well as the human souls"
£6.99   Used & New from: £0.01
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)

I Write What I Like: A Selection of Writings (Heinemann African Writers Series)
11.  I Write What I Like: A Selection of Writings (Heinemann African Writers Series) by Mr Steve Biko
The list author says:
  "a brilliant mind and life in terrible circumstances"
£8.82   Used & New from: £3.34
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

Rough Crossings
12.  Rough Crossings by Simon Schama
The list author says:
  "fair, extensive and challenging overview of all the horrors, indignities and sheer inhumanity in the Atlantic Slave Trade"
Used & New from: £0.01
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)

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Devil's Valley
13.  Devil's Valley by Andre Brink
The list author says:
  "Brink is a South African master - this is a weird almost dreamlike book that grips and  keeps you guessing all the way - the clash between  white and black Africa"
£8.09   Used & New from: £0.01
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

Disgrace
14.  Disgrace by J M Coetzee
The list author says:
  "Shocking, unsettling, disturbing, but all too real - a modern south African morality tale with no easy answers"
£5.59   Used & New from: £0.01
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (104 customer reviews)

Mandela: The Authorised Biography
15.  Mandela: The Authorised Biography by Anthony Sampson
The list author says:
  "i preferred this to Long Walk to Freedom (which i thought was still great) - a bit more objective, warts and all, and therefore made him all the more remarkable and credible"
Used & New from: £0.01
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

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The Viceroy Of Ouidah (Vintage Classics)
16.  The Viceroy Of Ouidah (Vintage Classics) by Bruce Chatwin
The list author says:
  "an extraordinary book about Dahomey, the African kingdom at the heart of the slave trade selling fellow Africans off to Europeans."
£5.24   Used & New from: £0.01
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

The Ukimwi Road: From Kenya to Zimbabwe
17.  The Ukimwi Road: From Kenya to Zimbabwe by Dervla Murphy
The list author says:
  "a travelogue, but much more than that - Ukimwi is Swahili for AIDS - an account of the personal tragedies and (sometimes well-intentioned) foreign ineptitude"
Used & New from: £0.01
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)

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Interesting Times: Uganda Diaries, 1955-86
18.  Interesting Times: Uganda Diaries, 1955-86 by Sir Peter Allen
The list author says:
  "price is now total ripoff - get elsewhere if you can - diaries of one of the few British civil servants who stayed in Uganda throughout the Amin era & was actually the 1 to swear in Museveni in 1986"
Used & New from: £39.69
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Cry, the Beloved Country: A Story of Comfort in Desolation
19.  Cry, the Beloved Country: A Story of Comfort in Desolation by Alan Paton
The list author says:
  "weep at the pain and agony, the dignity and grief"
£6.29   Used & New from: £1.90
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)

Big Men, Little People: Encounters in Africa
20.  Big Men, Little People: Encounters in Africa by Alec Russell
The list author says:
  "Daily Telegraph African correspondent who travelled all over - very interesting and insightful"
Used & New from: £2.99

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Mukiwa: A White Boy in Africa
21.  Mukiwa: A White Boy in Africa by Peter Godwin
The list author says:
  "a white boy growing up in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe - very evocative"
£6.99   Used & New from: £0.09
4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)

Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood
22.  Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller
The list author says:
  "a white girl growing up in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe - a  weird and difficult life beautifully described in childlike terms"
£6.29   Used & New from: £0.01
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)

The Catastrophist
23.  The Catastrophist by Ronan Bennett
The list author says:
  "pretty depressing, really - but opens eyes to some of what was going on when Congo's great hope, Lumumba, was assassinated, leading to Mobutu's installation as President by the CIA"
£6.29   Used & New from: £0.01
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)

Things Fall Apart (Pocket Penguin Classics)
24.  Things Fall Apart (Pocket Penguin Classics) by Chinua Achebe
The list author says:
  "not read this yet - but is on my list! Included here because everyone who knows about these things has told me to read it. Will update this!"
£6.29   Used & New from: £2.19
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (90 customer reviews)

Emma's War: Love, Betrayal and Death in the Sudan
25.  Emma's War: Love, Betrayal and Death in the Sudan by Deborah Scroggins
The list author says:
  "moving and shocking - soon to be a film i hear (? with Nicole Kidman) - a biography of a beautiful English girl who so wanted to make a difference in the dangerous world of Civil War Sudan"
£6.39   Used & New from: £0.01
3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

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Author

Mark Meynell "quaesitor" (London, UK)
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
Qualifications: Former Kampala citizen
Last updated: 05/04/2007
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