Top Ten Best Books about Africa

Posted by Geoff on 11.07.2008 at 11:40 am

The following list is 10 of the best books written in recent history about Africa. These titles were chosen based on their ability to give insight and tell a powerful story about what life is like on the African continent.

(N.B. click on the images to go to the product page at betterworld.com):

10. A Long Way Gone (Sierra Leone)

9. Unbowed (Kenya)

8. Ake: The Years of Childhood (Nigeria)

7. What is the What (Sudan)

6. Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight (Zimbabwe)

5. King Leopold’s Ghost (Congo)

4. We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families (Rwanda)

3. Cry Beloved Country (South Africa)

2. Things Fall Apart (Nigeria)

1. Long Walk to Freedom (South Africa)

The empirical process – there was a rigorous selection process that I went through to arrive at this top ten which included moving to South Africa for a year and a half and reading a lot. What would you add?

Honorable mention:
Unheard, Heart of Darkness, The Power of One, I Write What I Like, Country of My Skull, Spud

[Bonus: If you're more interested in traditional storytelling in Africa, rather than these great stories about Africa, read My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (the book from which David Byrne and Brian Eno got the name of their first record).  It's amazing.]

4 Comments » | Tagged Book Lists, africa, Dave Eggers, Nelson Mandela, Top 10 Books, what is the what