African History Books

AFRICAN DANCER BOOKPLATES (Sample available)
art by Y. Konyayeva. Condition: NEW package of 10 bookplates made by pacaritambo books. The peel-off label stock is heavier than most bookplate materials and is matte and not glossy. They are as perfect as possible, and we feel the subject matter is much different than you can get anywhere else. We can also personalize the bookplates if you like - just email us with the name. 3.5" high x 3.5" wide. Content: Colorful African dancers in traditional dress. Background in shades of green and blue. Any questions or to request a sample, click here to email us.
$ 3.59 + $ 2.75 first class shipping. International shipping available - please use the drop-down menu.

AFRICAN DANCER BOOKPLATES (Sample available)
art by Y. Konyayeva. Condition: NEW package of 10 bookplates made by pacaritambo books. The peel-off label stock is heavier than most bookplate materials and is matte and not glossy. They are as perfect as possible, and we feel the subject matter is much different than you can get anywhere else. We can also personalize the bookplates if you like - just email us with the name. 3.5" high x 3.5" wide. Content: Colorful African dancers in traditional dress. Background in pastel shades. Any questions or to request a sample, click here to email us.
$ 3.59 + $ 2.75 first class shipping. International shipping available - please use the drop-down menu.

AFRICAN ART: An Introduction
by Frank Willett. Illustrated with color photos, B&W drawings, maps, and photographs. 261 illustrations, 61 in color. Condition: NEW 1989 Thames & Hudson soft cover, reprint. Light edgewear. Content: The art of the Fang, the BaTeke, the BaKota and other African peoples is extremely vigorous and shows brilliant sense of form. The substantial aesthetic impact of their works upon the development of 20th-century Western art - on Picasso, Derain, Braque and Modigliani, among others - continues to this day. This survey reveals the astonishing variety and expressive power of a continent that contains more distinct peoples and cultures than any other. [1 copy available]
$ 8.50 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

AFRICAN MYTHS AND LEGENDS
by O. B. Duane. Beautiful color paintings of African scenes by various artists. Condition: NEW 1998 Brockhampton Press (UK) large softcover, no editio given. Content: CONTENT: Folklore and myths from the Dark Continent (Creation stories, Animal fables, and "Wit & Wisdom" legends. Also includes a comprehensive introduction to the world of African mythology. Simply beautiful color illustrations accompany each story. [1 copy available]
$ 8.50 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

AFRICAN SILENCES
by Peter Matthiessen. B&W maps. Condition: UNREAD 1992 Vintage Trade Paperback, 5th printing. Name inside front cover. Content: In this account of three trips to Central and Western Africa, Matthiessen reports on the almost total devastation of wildlife in Senegal, Gambia, and the Ivory Coast and describes an exhibition searching for the rare Congo peacock and gorillas in the Virunga Mountains of Zaire. Matthiessen's disgust for the government, ruined landscape, and many of the people he found in these countries makes for uncomfortable reading. Especially engrossing is his "African Silences" chapter in which he accompanied ecologist David (Jonah) Western to the Central African Republic, Gabon, and Zaire to survey populations of the forest elephant and visit the Mbuti Pygmies of the Ituri Forest. Matthiessen's delight in the Mbuti and his cautious optimism about the effects of the recent ban on ivory trafficking somewhat softens his otherwise grim message about the fate of the people and wildlife of Africa. Questions welcome [1 copy available]
$ 4.50 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

BENIN, LORDS OF THE RIVER (Kingdoms of Africa series)
by Philip Koslow. Wonderful color photos of artifacts and repros of art work plus some B&W era photos. Condition: UNREAD, but not perfect, 1996 Chelsea House hardcover (pictorial boards - no DJ), first printing. This is a library book that was never checked out - with 2-3 library markings. Light shelf wear. Content: In A.D. 900, the Edo people of West Africa created the kingdom of Benin in the fertile region of the Niger Delta. Its traditional government, comprising a ruling oba and a council that checked the oba's power, equaled the European states in sophistication. Benin's renowned sculptors produced amazing life-like heads that were used in funeral ceremonies and shrines for former rulers. Contct with Europe led to a golden age of art and commerce in Benin but eventually resulted in a devastating slave trade, which Benin survived by maintaining cultural and artistic traditions that have endured for 1,000 years. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 3.89 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

THE BOER WAR GENERALS
by Peter Trew. B&W photo section with B&W maps and era photos throughout. Condition: NEW 2001 Wrens Park hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first thus. Content: The Boer War (1899-1902) witnessed the professionals of the British Army pitted against the gifted amateurs who led the Boer commandos. For the Boers, it was a struggle for independence; for Britain, an attempt once and for all to assert her political supremacy in South Africa. While sheer weight of numbers and ruthless tactics eventually secured a British military victory, the extraordinary Boer effort won respect worldwide. This is an in-depth study of the principal commanders on both sides, in a conflict that was both "the last of the gentlemen's wars" and the first modern one. The three British Commanders-in-Chief were established regular soldiers who stood high in public esteem when they went out to South Africa. For Roberts, the war was a final triumph, albeit somewhat tainted when it dragged on for another year and a half after his departure; for Kitchener, it was a tedious and exhausting interlude which delayed his appointment as Commander-in-Chief in India; and for Buller, the graveyard of his reputation. The Boer Generals were Louis Botha, Christiaan de Wet, Koos de la Rey and Jan Smuts, of whom the first three were farmers and legislators with little conventional military experience. Smuts, after a brilliant academic career at Cambridge, was a senior but very young state official. In the course of the war, the men proved in different ways to have outstanding natural military ability. For De Wet, this was a time of fulfilment when all his special gifts came into play; for Smuts and Botha, it was a preparation for their future careers as politicians; and for De la Rey, who hated war, it was a heavy but unavoidable duty which he discharged with distinction. Peter Trew's narrative examines each personality separately, highlighting the differences between the command styles of the experienced, professional British generals and the natural ingenuity of the "amateur" Boers. [1 copy available]
$ 10.50 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

CRY OF THE KALAHARI: Seven Years in Africa's last Great Wilderness
by Mark and Delia Owens. One B&W photo section and one color photo section. Condition: Very good 1984 Houghton Mifflin hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), possibly a Book Club Edition. The book is near fine, but the DJ has creases and edgewear top & bottom, with chips at corners & bottom spine. Content: This is the story of the Owens' travel and life in the Kalahari Desert. Here they met and studied unique animals and were confronted with danger from drought, fire, storms, and the animals they loved. This best-selling book is for both travelers and animal lovers. After spending seven years in the Kalahari Desert, the authors provide a beautiful documentary examining wildlife in the Kalahari. Their adventure is the focus of a National Geographic special. If we keep killing off animals and/or their habitats, books like this will no longer exist. Get 'em while you can. [1 copy available]
$ 8.50 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

GHOSTS OF TSAVO: Stalking the Mystery Lions of East Africa
And THE GHOST AND THE DARKNESS movie (VHS)
by Philip Caputo. B&W and color photo section. . Condition: NEW 2002 National Geographic hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first printing. Content: Although the 1996 movie was based on Patterson's own account of the lion incident, this book helps with the understanding of the "incident" and the real maneless lions of Tsavo. In 1898, two maneless male lions killed and devoured 135 Indian and African workers constructing a railroad bridge over the Tsavo River in Kenya. It took Lt. Col. John Henry Patterson, the engineer in charge of the project, nine months to hunt and kill the beasts, an ordeal recounted in his 1907 book, The Man-Eaters of Tsavo, and later the subject of two films, 1952's Bwana Devil and 1996's The Ghost and the Darkness. A century later, the story of Ghost and Darkness still fascinates and terrifies. Were they just rogue lions, or were they the "missing genetic link" between the prehistoric cave cats who hunted early humans and the modern African lion? Caputo seeks answers to this intriguing question as he accompanies two separate expeditions to study the maneless lions of Tsavo. Read the book; see the movie; take your heart medication! The 1996 movie was directed by Stephen Hopkins and starred the great Val Kilmer, Michael Douglas, Tom Wilkinson, John Kani, Bernard Hill, and the great African actor Henry Cele. Not to be missed! [1 copy available]
$ 9.59 + $ 3.49 media shipping.

THE MIRACLE CHILD: A Story from Ethiopia
by Elizabeth Laird with Abba Aregawi Wolde Gabriel. Beautiful color illustrations from an 18th century Ethiopian manuscript. Condition: Gently pre-read 1985 Holt Rinehart hardcover (pictorial boards) & DJ (in mylar jacket), first American edition, first printing. DJ price-clipped. Content: This is an Ethiopian story of a miracle child who fed the hungry and healed the sick during a time of great famine. Based on the life of Saint Tekla Haymanot, a 13th century monk, the story is one of the best-loved tales in Ethiopia's rich and ancient literature. In case you wondered about the co-author of the book, Gabriel is a priest of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in England. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 9.50 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

THE PREHISTORY OF EAST AFRICA
by Sonia Cole. Introduction by Richard Carrington. B&W drawings, maps, & photos illustrate. Condition: UNREAD 1965 Mentor paperback with edgewear and light tanning to page edges. Name inside front cover, but never read. Content: Zinjanthropus boisei was found in the Olduyai Gorge in the Serengeti Plains of northern Tanganyika. Discovered by Dr. L.S.B. Leakey and his wife in 1959, this astonishing fossil places the probable origin of man a half million years further back in history than was previously assumed, and seems to prove Darwin's theory that Africa is "the birthplace of mankind." This is the story of man in Africa, including food production, hunting tools, pottery, and early culture. This book properly belongs in anthropology. [1 copy available]
$ 5.39 + $ 2.89 media shipping.

THE RACE FOR TIMBUKTU: In Search of Africa's City of Gold
by Frank T. Kryza. B&W era illustrations. Condition: NEW 2006 HarperCollins hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first printing. Content: Kryza recreates the bold journeys through the unknown Africa of early 19th-century British explorers Alexander Gordon Laing and Hugh Clapperton, competing to find the fabled city of Timbuktu. Kryza's meticulous research of letters, diaries and official records forms the basis for affecting descriptions of the hazards and horrors the two explorers faced. Kryza, who lived in Africa for 11 years and traveled Laing's route, writes evocatively of the beauty of the African landscape and provides chilling glimpses of the barbarism of the slave trade. He also exposes the unbridgeable cultural gap between 19th-century Muslims in North Africa and the Christian explorers. But what most impresses are the sheer number of ways there were to die in Africa, known as the "White Man's grave"—malaria, dysentery, drowning, parasitic infections and heat stroke were a few of the natural threats, which paled beside the likelihood of being killed by fellow travelers, slavers, bandits or capricious rulers. Kryza starts slowly, but when the focus settles on Laing and Clapperton, readers will be eager to find out their fates. [1 copy available]
$ 6.49 + $ 3.29 media shipping. International shipping available by arrangement - email us.

RETURN TO LAUGHTER: An Anthropological Novel
by Elenore Smith Bowen. Foreword by David Riesman. Condition: UNREAD 1964 Anchor paperback, 28th printing. Interior clean, tight, perfect, but bottom front cover corner shows diagonal creases with shelfwear hinge crease. Content: Although the politically correct and socially aware reader may be inclined to huff and puff a little bit over this anthropological journey through Africa, it is neccessary to take into account the actual year that this book was first written (1954). Aside from a few "dated" remarks, this book provides a tender glimpse into the field work of an anthropologist. A young anthropologist is confronted with a quagmire ethical and moral ambiguity as ideals and unconscious assumptions meet the reality of living within a human community. Witch trials and a smallpox epidemic provide a dramatic context for problems familiar to anyone living among strangers, whether in the next town or the next continent. Along the way, Return to Laughter also serves as an engaging, impressionistic, ethnography. In fact, I'm amazed at how many different layers of book Smith Bowen has squeezed into such a quick read. [1 copy available]
$ 7.39 + $ 2.94 media shipping. Priority shipping available.

SOURCE OF ALL EVIL: African Proverbs and Sayings on Women
by Mineke Schipper. Condition: 1991 Allison & Busby of London first edition hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket).. Assane N'Doye (Cover art). Name inside front cover possibly pre-read, but interior very clean & tight. A beautiful book. Content: Proverbs about women from every dialect and country in Africa. [1 copy available]
$ 8.89 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

THE STAR RAFT: China's Encounter with Africa
by Philip Snow. B&W photo section. Condition: Gently pre-read 1988 Weidenfeld & Nicholson (London) hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), assumed first printing. Content: 75 years before Columbus crossed the Atlantic, a fleet of Chinese treasure ships came to the East African coast. The scale of this landfall was so colossal that it makes the Genoese explorer look like an amateur. The fleet was called the Star Raft, and its arrival marked the beginning of formal contacts between China and Africa. For Snow the Star Raft is also a metaphor for the great descents made by China on Africa in our own time. During the last 30 years the Chinese have worked to nudge Africa out from the European shadow, and have challenged both Western and Soviet interests in independent African states. As the Western tide recedes, the early contacts are being renewed and strengthened. This book is an important one in light of the shifting alliances in the so-called Third World countries and the ever active Chinese government. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 8.59 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

WARRIOR CHIEFS OF SOUTHERN AFRICA: Shaka of the Zulu. Moshoeshoe of the Basotho, Mzilikazi of the Matabele, Maqoma of the Xhosa (Heroes & Warriors)
by Ian J. Knight. Wonderful B&W era photos, drawings, and maps. Condition: NEW 1995 Firebird hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), assumed first printing. Content: The lives and actions of four selected warriors of Southern Africa are examined in a portrait which examines tribal power struggles; from the legendary Shaka of the Zulu to Moshoeshoe of the Basotho, remembered as much for his diplomacy as for his military might. Photos and drawings enhance this excellent portrait of early African leaders and states. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 7.59 + $ 3.49 media shipping.

WHITEMAN: A Novel
by Tony D'Souza. Condition: NEW 2006 Harcourt hardcover & DJ (in mylar jackeat), first edition, first printing. Content: Jack Diaz is a young American relief worker in a Muslim village in the Ivory Coast, part of an endeavor to bring potable water to the impoverished villagers. As it becomes more and more apparent that he cannot achieve his original goal, he drifts into various projects from hunting to farming to teaching villagers about AIDS prevention to taking up ill--advised love affairs. Tensions between Muslims and Christians mount and add to the layers of cultural and political nuances that Jack struggles to understand. Christened Whiteman by the villagers, who believe him capable of magic by virtue of his white skin, Jack feels his whiteness more than he ever has in his life. As he penetrates the culture--but never achieves complete integration--he discovers a people not as simple and uncomplicated as he had thought. With war threatening to hasten the end of his three-year commitment, Jack's affection for the region and the people heightens, and he seeks forgiveness for his privilege and ineffectiveness. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 4.59 + $ 3.19 media shipping. International shipping available.