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Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles (Hardcover)

by Chinua Achebe (Foreword), Richard Dowden (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
RRP: £25.00
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 576 pages
  • Publisher: Portobello Books Ltd (1 Sep 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1846271541
  • ISBN-13: 978-1846271540
  • Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16.6 x 5.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 96,727 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #8 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > A > Achebe, Chinua
    #20 in  Books > History > Countries & Regions > Africa > 20th Century

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Product Description

Review

'A wise, compassionate and understanding account of Africa, written by a man who has glimpsed deeper truths about the continent' --The Times


Review

'A remarkable, ground-breaking achievement, capturing the complex texture of a rapidly changing continent. It is also terribly moving'
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles
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Customer Reviews

14 Reviews
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3 star:
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2 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Concise introduction to a complex continent, 19 Mar 2009
By David Kobia (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
This book is almost 600 pages long, and still feels like an abridged account of Africa. I actually thought it was pretty bold to call the book 'Africa' - like a little boy with a toy gun calling himself a cowboy, so I approached the book expecting to disparage it immediately. Having grown up in some of the countries written about in the book, I realized Dowden had actually lived through it enough to warrant telling the tale. I believe this book far outranks many of the history books on Africa, and should be required reading for all high school kids.

Post colonial Africa evokes different types of emotions depending on which side of the railway line you grew up on, so its easy to understand why descendants of the colonialists themselves might not find this an easy read. Dowden places a great deal of the blame for Africa's woes squarely on them and other factors like foreign aid. My opinion is biased because I tend to agree.

Those without any type of bias will find the book extremely fascinating. Discovering Africa through Dowden has left me feeling that I should make the same commitment and re-discover the beautiful continent of Africa.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Africa: Altered States Ordinary Miracles, 19 Jan 2009
By Mr. Peter H. Mills (hook, hampshire United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This book should be required reading for anyone with an interest in Africa. The author has a profound understanding, through many years of experience, of what makes Africa tick. His writing is underscored by an evident personal commitment and compassion for the continent and its inhabitants. Africa is at a cross roads in its development following the momentous developments at the end of the last century and with a new, powerful influence from Asia and China in particular. The old practices which have led to rampant corruption might at last be under threat with the emergence of a new middle class who understand the need for change for the betterment of their countries. Time will tell but this book gives cause for cautious optimism although the road ahead is a long one. Don't hesitate, read it!
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A delicate balancing act, 4 May 2009
By Gitau Githinji (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Richard Dowden suffered the misfortune of being held responsible for an ill-advised cover of "The Economist" about a decade ago. The cover depicted a teenage African boy wielding a heavy weapon and suggested that the entire continent was a lost cause.

Dowden has redeemed himself by writing this excellent book. It does not pretend to be anything more than an introduction to a continent in which he has spent much time and knows intimately. Conscious of being accused of taking too broad a brush to a vast and very varied continent, Dowden explains in the book that his audience is not the Africa veteran; rather, it is the dismissive European who, like that stupid "The Economist" cover, thinks of Africa as a place beyond redemption.

This was a very difficult balancing act to perform and I congratulate Mr Dowden on having done a marvellous job. Now what he must do is a Winston Churchill: break it all up and write every last detail, there's a good chap, Richard!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Please buy...
Mr Dowden has been as good as it gets with African analysis for years - this is him making that expertise public. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Skenderberg

4.0 out of 5 stars ... until one day Achebe's house is open to all
Richard Dowden, before taking up the post for the Economist, has been for many years the Africa Editor of the Independent. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Sara B.

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read!
Richard Dowden's "Africa: altered states ordinary miracles" has sprung out of Dowdens decades long love affair with the African continent. Read more
Published 2 months ago by David Persson

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful
Dowden does understand the nature of Africa and you can really sense his passion for the continent. I must admit learning the politics and history of some countries can be muddled... Read more
Published 3 months ago by A. Taylor

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping and Insightful
This book is simply gripping and illuminates both the miseries and joy of the wonderful continent of Africa: all its ambiguities and complexities. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Nala Scoorb

3.0 out of 5 stars Left me unsatisfied
As someone involved with Africa for nearly 20 years I was really looking forward to reading this.But simple errors like confusing Sam Jonah of Ashanti with James Jonah and Philip... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Keith M. Atkinson

5.0 out of 5 stars A tough subject - an easy read
This book widened my knowledge about African history in an easy-to-understand language and highlights "the other side of the story". Read more
Published 7 months ago by Peter Erftemeijer

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant survey of a maligned Continent
This is a wonderful book from a man who really knows his subject. Not only does he explain why things are as they are, but he also gives the reader perspective. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Henry Reddaway

5.0 out of 5 stars Africa: Altered States
A fantastic read. Have since bought this book as a present for several people. Says it all really.
Published 8 months ago by E. Dudley

5.0 out of 5 stars Honest, incisive, and ultimately uplifting
This is a very easy to read account of modern Africa that could not have been written by anyone who had less experience of travelling the continent than the author. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Dr. Dc Walsh

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