Wonders of the African World

Rating:
Summary: Interesting Illustrated Introduction
Review: "Wonders of the African World" by Henry Louis Gates is an interesting illustrated introduction to Africa, or more precisely, to ancient Nubia and modern Sudan; Ethiopia; Mali and Timbuktu; the Swahili East Coast; the historic Slave Coast and Gold Coast and modern Benin and Ghana; and South Africa and Zimbabwe. The book is a combination of personal essay, travelogue, and history. Much of the criticism of the "Wonders of the African World" TV/book production focused on Gates' sometimes goofy (to the point of insulting, think some) behavior vis-a-vis Africans; in print, Gates is more in his element and the book reads well.

This is no comprehensive history of Africa; rather, Gates explores something of interest in each of the countries he visits (the relations between ancient Nubia and Egypt, Christianity in Ethiopia; the ancient library at Timbuktu; the Eastern slave trade and African/Arab lineage of the Swahili; the Western slave trade and the Asante Kingdom; and megalithic ruins in Southern Africa). Gates writes a middle course between two opposing camps: the outmoded "Africa has no history" and the extreme "All civilization originated in Africa". Gates is no scholar of the history of Africa (and he makes this clear in the opening of the book). Readers who know little about Africa will certainly find much of interest here and will enjoy learning about Africa along with Gates. Students of African history might wonder what all the fuss is about. Everyone will admire the beautiful sepia-toned photographs by Lynn Davis. The book is filled out with well-chosen quotations from a variety of historic writers as well as vintage illustrations. Notes on sources are provided.

It is a pity that Gates did not travel in central Africa, along the Congo River. That's the part of Sub-Saharan Africa with no ancient books (like Timbuktu), no lost cities of stone (like Southern Africa and Sudan), no ancient priesthood or empire (like Ethiopia). It would heve been very interesting to see what Gates would have made of it.

A full-fledged and highly recommended history of Africa is "Africa: A Biography of the Continent" by John Reader. Also see Basil Davidson's "The Black Man's Burden: Africa and the Curse of the Nation-State", "Modern Africa: A Social and Political History", and "Africa in History: Themes and Outlines".

Rating:
Summary: Well, a start ...
Review: Gates has made a good start here. Some things are exposed, like Swahili's role as an Arab pidgeon language (sometimes called "lingua franca" of the Arab slave trade), and at least the African origins of Egypt are mentioned. But African reviewers have given this book a universal drubbing, rightly so, because of its poor treatment of slavery and its role in ripping apart civilizations in Africa.

Gates' treatment of Egypt is also grossly inadequate. Black Africa's role in Ancient Egypt was assumed in the 1800's. Many great historians like Budge placed Ancient Egyptian alongside other "Negro" languages and the relationships are both startling and clear to the language enthusiast, whereas the relationships to Semitic are strained and minor at best. This is but one of many discussion points that Gates misses entirely ... points that I believe would be of deep fascination to any African-American, but also to Europeans like myself who always find history full of strange unknowns that seem to disappear when racism is caste aside. Gates barely mentions "controversy" when he should be saying "travesty".

I believe one of the biggest crimes being committed today by our history departments is the repeated, and gross misrepresentation of ancient Egyptian art, culture and society to make it seem more European. Nevertheless, the book makes a great start. If only major publishers could be convinced to get someone more knowledgeable about Africa and its history to try and redo the concept. Personally, I'm still waiting for a quality coffee table book, full of pictures, that properly relates Ancient Egypt to Africa in general.

Rating:
Summary: Havard has ruined more black men than whiskey
Review: I think Gates meant well by producing this piece,but his mind is no different from Eurocentrics who constantly degrade Africa and it's culture. I Have been on a crusade to justify Africa's existence in the broad history of the world. Gates Fails to do even this. I am a white person by the way. I recommend Gates instead of trying to displace Egypt from Africa you should look for connections. The connections between Egyptain relgion and African traditions is in there and worth a look. Dubois had said in his books constantly about the african features of ancient egypt. I heard Gates is making a documentary of Egypt,and I wonder if it will be insulting like this book and video set. Can scholars trust Gates not to be a biased eurocentric,nor a manaiac Afrocentric. I enjoyed parts of Africana,but found this book was offesive to African people and their culture. If you want to learn more about pre colonial West Africa check out Basil Davidson,a white historian of Africa,but a whole lot better choice on African history. Gates has no knowleadge of Africa either and it not an expert. He is just a pseudo anthropologist/african historian/book critic. TOny Brown also exposed his envolvment of the jewish coverup of the trans Atlantic slave trade. I shall discuss that on another post

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable history and travelogue
Review: This interesting account of journeys in Africa is both history and travelogue, in that the author set out to explore his African heritage and find the personal meaning of Africa for himself. Wonders Of The African World succeeds as both in its highly readable narrative.

The chapter Nubia: Black Gods And Kings, deals with a journey up the Nile from northern Sudan to Egypt while discussing the history of ancient Egypt's southern neighbour. It includes an account of the Kingdom of Kush, whose kings were also pharaos of Egypt between 712 and 664 BC, and also looks at Kerma, Meroë and the Kingdom of Napata.

Chapter two, Ethiopia: Holy Land And The Lost Ark Of The Covenant, looks at the history of this Christian land, including the Kingdom of Aksum. Salt, Gold And Books is the third chapter and it explores the road to Timbuktu. On the way, it deals with interesting subjects like the Griot (praise singer), the Dogon people, the Empire of Mali and the contemporary country.

The next visit is to the East Coast (which includes Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar and Pemba), with its ancient historical connections to the other cultures around the Indian Ocean. The chapter Time Of Forgetfulness focuses on West Africa, the tragic history of the slave trade, the Akan and Asante peoples, and the Kingdom of Dahomey.

The last chapter, South Africa and Zimbabwe, investigates the legends of the lost city of Monomotapa by looking at the site of Mapungubwe, at the Great Zimbabwe ruins and at the early Shona states. There is a complete map of Africa, plus a map of the area in question at the start of each chapter, all in full color. Impressive color photographs and a wealth of black and white plus color illustrations enhance the text. This gripping read ends with notes and an index.