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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 (10 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 (10 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 77,181 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

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

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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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Inside This Book (Learn More)
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles
90% buy the item featured on this page:
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Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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9 of 9 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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8 of 8 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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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Left me unsatisfied, 20 May 2009
By Keith M. Atkinson (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles (Paperback)
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 Moi with Philip Leakey(See index)irritated me & made me wonder just how authoritative the book could really be.
And how can anyone claiming to be involved in Africa write about the last 2 decades of the 20th century without one single reference to Tiny Rowland and Lonrho? You might not have agreed with his views or his successes/failures but you simply cant write a book on Africa at that time without mentioning him.Deeply involved in the arrival of Museveni,the struggles in Angola, Renamo/Frelimo in Mozambique and the protracted talks on Southern Sudan you cant ignore him.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A delicate balancing act
Richard Dowden suffered the misfortune of being held responsible for an ill-advised cover of "The Economist" about a decade ago. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Gitau Githinji

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 2 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 2 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 4 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 4 months ago by Dr. Dc Walsh

5.0 out of 5 stars Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles
A superb sensitively written book which should be a "must read" for anyone interested or involved in this vibrant continent
Published 5 months ago by Mr. David G. Stables

5.0 out of 5 stars making sense of africa
I have always been fascinated by Africa. My parents met there as vso volunteers in the 70s and that was how the author first experienced Africa. Read more
Published 9 months ago by B. Tegelaars

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