UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. IV, Abridged Edition: Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century (Volume 4)
Product ID: 92776518
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Volume IV of this acclaimed series is now available in an abridged paperback edition. The result of years of work by scholars from all over the world, The UNESCO General History of Africa reflects how the different peoples of Africa view their civilizations and shows the historical relationships between the various parts of the continent. Historical connections with other continents demonstrate Africa's contribution to the development of human civilization. Each volume is lavishly illustrated and contains a comprehensive bibliography. The period covered in Volume IV constitutes a crucial phase in the continent's history, in which Africa developed its own culture and written records became more common. Major themes include the triumph of Islam; the extension of trading relations,cultural exchanges, and human contacts; and the development of kingdoms and empires. Review: Five Stars - wonderful brain power, better than any wealth! Review: Five Stars - all perfekt, thank you!!
| Best Sellers Rank | #2,614,762 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #14 in Agriculture Bibliographies & Indexes #193 in Historical Bibliographies & Indexes #6,489 in African History (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 22 Reviews |
R**A
Five Stars
wonderful brain power, better than any wealth!
H**O
Five Stars
all perfekt, thank you!!
T**E
Poorly Written but informative for knowlegdable Africanists
This edition, possible due to translation, is horribly written. There is no flow and lucidity is next to nothing. However, being that there is so little out there that discusses African history in such detail from non-Europeans, this book remains important. It is informative for those already well read on the subject, but useless for anyone else. Even those well read will be disturbed by the poor presentation. There is also the issue that just because the editors are not European is doesnt mean the text does not pay homage to Eurocentric values. It does so in many cases as well as the Arabcentric values inherent in the Islamic faith that is so popular amoung Africa's scholars. Such attitudes are evident in descriptions of African kingdoms having some sort of non-indeginous lineage (a common practice by Islamic converts attempting to validate a Moslem heritage)and the disregard for indeginous African religions. Even age old faiths such as Ifa are reduced to the term "cult". With this aside, the text has its usefullness in a world where little has been done in the field of African historical research that has been outside of the excesses of Eurocentric or Afrocentric procedures.
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