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Books: Text Books: Africa
Casting with a Fragile Thread: A Story of Sisters and Africaby Wendy Kann List Price: $23.00 Available from Amazon $15.64 On 7-21-2006 
See Item's Page From Publishers Weekly Starred Review. When Rhodesia declared independence from Britain in 1965, five-year-old Kann, the daughter of white Africans, would entertain her father's tennis party guests by singing, "Rhodesia has sanctions, and I can't have Marmite on my toast!" In her 20s, Kann left what had become Zimbabwe for the U.S. Drawn back to Africa by the sudden death of one of her sisters (in a 1999 car crash in Zambia), Kann found herself reexamining her earlier life. Her alcoholic mother—"There should be lots of words to describe drunk mothers, like the Inuit have words for snow"—and her morose father had divorced early; the stepmother who raised the girls after their father's suicide was barely able to manage. The country itself had always been in a state of war; as Kann realized when she first met her American husband, "I had never dated a man who hadn't killed someone, or at least been prepared to kill someone." Until recently, writers like Joseph Conrad and Paul Theroux have defined the white colonial experience in literature. Now, with Alexandra Fuller (Don't Let's Go to the dogs Tonight) and Kann, we're hearing from a different constituency: the daughters. Their tales, Kann's included, make for fascinating reading. Look for PW's upcoming Q&A with Wendy Kann. (May 8) Copyright © Reed business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist Framed by the tragic death of her youngest sister in a car accident in Zambia, Kann's memoir tells the story of her and her sisters' coming-of-age in Zimbabwe, then called Rhodesia, at the twilight of the colonial era. Kann's parents' tumultuous marriage ended when Kann and her two sisters were very young, and because of their mother's drinking and mental instability, their father got custody of them. He soon married the well-intentioned but moody Gail, but it wasn't long before his debts caught up with him, and he committed suicide, leaving Gail with five children to care for. Kann decided to forgo college and drifted from secretarial job to secretarial job before meeting Mickey, an American man, whom she accompanied to New York and married. America is strange to her, but Kann makes it her home and settles in, until news of her sister's death jolts her out of her complacency. Although Kann is at times too circumspect about her feelings and point of view, her memoir vividly evokes life in colonial Africa. Kristine Huntley Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved |
Textbook of Biochemistry With Clinical Correlationsby Thomas M. Devlin List Price: $115.00 Available from Amazon $105.54 On 7-21-2006 
See Item's Page Product Review "a very readable textideal for medicine or clinical biochemistry undergraduate studentshas much to offer to medicinal chemistry students" (Chemistry World, April 2004) "Outstanding…classicclear illustrations aboundan exceedingly thorough, accurate, and up-to-date volume." (The Quarterly Review of Biology) "A delightful book to read…I would recommend this book highlyfor any who seek to understand the biochemical basis of disease" (Annals of Clinical Biochemistry) "…I believe this text fills an important niche, and in that niche it is very well done…a very useful text for those going into medicine.” (Biochemistry and Molecular Education, July-August 2002) "a comprehensive biochemistry booknew material in key areas justifies the new edition" (Doody's Health, April 19, 2002) "There are numerous good textbooks available for general biochemistry, but medical, pharmacy, and other health professional students often question the relevance of the extensive coverage given tosimpler organismsDevlin's textbook fills the needs of these students, with its strong emphasis on human biochemistryan excellent choice for a pharmaceutical or medical biochemistry course." (Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, Vol. 45, No. 11) "This is a welcome and relatively inexpensive volume for students of biochemistry and especially those involved with clinical biochemistry".(Cell Biochemistry & Function, June 2003)
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
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Middle Passages: African American Journeys to Africa, 1787-2005by James T. Campbell List Price: $29.95 Available from Amazon $19.77 On 7-21-2006 
See Item's Page From Publishers Weekly Starred Review. Historian Campbell, whose Songs of Zion (1995) traced African Methodist Episcopal Church's history and garnered multiple awards, here traces the travels and travails of diverse African-Americans-missionary, settler, journalist, tourist, immigrant-who journeyed to Africa over 200-plus years. Campbell's prologue recalls the 18th century adventures of Ayuba Suleiman Diallo (a literate, Wolof-speaking Muslim brought to the U.S. as a slave, whose letter to his father eventually resulted in his return to West Africa); his book ends with the experiences of black journalists covering strife in present day Sierra Leone and Liberia. Relying heavily on traveler's journals and memoirs, Campbell revisits Africa through the eyes of such lesser-known 19th century figures as freeman and abolitionist Paul Cuffe, A.M.E. reverend Daniel Coker, and back-to-Africa nationalist Martin Delany. He also brings to life turn-of-the-20th-century figures like Charles Spencer Smith and William Sheppard. Accounts of Langston Hughes, W.E.B. DuBois, George Schuyler, Richard Wright, and Era Bell Thompson all offer lesser known details of famous lives. A bibliographic essay is particularly valuable for its breadth and judgment. Cambell uses an unexpected conceit to deliver a wealth of history. Copyright © Reed business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist Hundreds of years and an ocean between the present and past have not weakened Africa's strong hold on the imaginations of African Americans. Historian Campbell explores that hold and the incredible efforts to reconnect with Africa by diverse black Americans, including W. E. B. DuBois, Malcolm X, Louis Armstrong, and Alice Walker. He begins with an account of the high-born Ayuba Suleiman Diallo, who was on a slave-trading mission when he was captured in 1730. He was returned to Africa--by way of Maryland and England--in 1734, eventually becoming an agent for the slave trade. Campbell examines the long history of journeys back to Africa and the motivations behind them: repatriation of former slaves, search for homeland, business interests, and Christian missionary work. Campbell also explores the journeys of self-discovery by black Americans, famous and obscure, as well as the growth of an African heritage tourist industry. This is a scholarly but highly accessible examination of the pull of Africa and the ties that continue to bind Africans in the diaspora. Vanessa Bush Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved |
Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World, 1400-1800 (Studies in Comparative World History)by John Thornton, Michael Adas, Edmund Burke III, and Philip D. Curtin Available from Amazon $22.99 On 7-21-2006 
See Item's Page Product Review 'A major contribution the strongest and most articulate statement that Africa and Africans were not passive agents provocative and insightful.' Paul E. Lovejoy, journal of Interdisciplinary History Book Description This book explores Africa's involvement in the Atlantic world from the fifteenth through the eighteenth centuries. It focuses especially on the causes and consequences of the slave trade, in Africa, in Europe, and in the New World. Prior to 1680, Africa's economic and military strength enabled African elites to determine how trade with Europe developed. Thornton examines the dynamics that made slaves so necessary to European colonizers. He explains why African slaves were placed in significant roles. Estate structure and demography affected the capacity of slaves to form a self-sustaining society and behave as cultural actors. This second edition contains a new chapter on eighteenth century developments. |
The Complete Book of Model Fundraising Lettersby Roland Kuniholm Available from Amazon $48.00 On 7-21-2006 
See Item's Page Book Description This invaluable resource is a collection of over 350 sample letters and models, plus excerpts, teasers, and opening lines that will deliver thousands of dollars of contributions for your organization. Use the models "as is" or adapt them easily to your own purposes. Either way, they’ll help your requests jump out of the multitude of requests that flood the mail, get them read, and - most importantly - get a response. You’ll find letters for every kind of fund-raising effort. In addition, this book provides ingenious "hooks" that will help get your envelope opened; pointers for writing strong opening copy, plus tips on asking for the right gift amount; structuring your fund-raising request; designing your direct mail packing; producing cost-effect mailings, testing, and much more!
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Africa in Chaos: A Comparative Historyby George B.N. Ayittey List Price: $22.95 Available from Amazon $16.06 On 7-21-2006
See Item's Page Product Review Ghanaian-born economics professor George B.N. Ayittey takes a hard, unsentimental look at the continuing economic, cultural, and political downfall of African countries. While Africa is the world's second-largest continent, containing 770 million people and much of the world's natural resources, he contends that the postcolonial African nations cannot reconcile what he calls "the two Africas," one traditional and one modern (or "Western"). That split, he says, wreaks havoc on the African people, and he comes down hard on "the elites, the parasitic minority group [that operates] by an assortment of imported or borrowed institutions." Africa in Chaos examines the collapse of Nigeria's civilian-led democracy, as well as the anarchy in Liberia, the former Zaire, and Sierra Leone, outlining the suicidal quest for power that hinders Africa's growth. Ayittey, unlike many Afrocentric apologists, does not lay all of the blame for Africa's predicament on the West, but he does insist that solid, long-term investment from Europe and America is needed to lift the motherland out of its mire. His "Ten Commandments for African Intellectuals," intended to lead the way to success, include calls for an embrace of the African past, a relationship with the private sector, and consistent freedom of expression. --Eugene Holley Jr. From Library Journal Ayittey (economics, American Univ.), a Ghanaian by birth, provides a harsh critique of Africa's development. Describing the undermining of basic political and economic institutions, primarily since independence, he places much of the blame for the outcomes on African leaders themselves and what he calls their "vampire states." He asserts that African leaders have ignored the strengths of indigenous systems while spouting meaningless rhetoric and resisting meaningful change. These arguments have been raised in numerous other studies by African and Western authors, but Ayittey's focus on the failure and corruption of political, business, bureaucratic, and police leadership is persuasive, if incomplete. One wishes for more viable examples of internal alternatives to the "chaos" he describes to gain a sense of optimism. Recommended for academic and large public libraries.?Bill Rau, Talkoma, Md. Copyright 1998 Reed business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. |
History on Trial: Culture Wars and the Teaching of the Past (Vintage)by Gary Nash, Charlotte Crabtree, and Ross Dunn List Price: $15.00 Available from Amazon $10.50 On 7-21-2006
See Item's Page Product Review The authors of History On Trial never would have imagined that they'd get caught up in a highly partisan national controversy. In 1992 they were enlisted by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to draw up standards for the teaching of history in America's schools. And in 1994, before their work was even published, it came under blistering attack from the political right. In History on Trial the professors argue that their work was hideously distorted and turned into a shockingly nasty political issue by agitators such as Rush Limbaugh and Lynne Cheney (who had been director of the NEH when the project to create curriculum guidelines was begun). In presenting their story, Gary B. Nash, Charlotte Crabtree, and Ross E. Dunn may go into too much detail for a general reader, but that is perhaps a necessary byproduct of fully presenting their case. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Los Angeles Times Sunday Book Review, Lawrence W. Levine an important and accessible book about what transpired when three California professors--Gary B. Nash, Charlotte Crabtree and Ross E. Dunn--helped from 1992 to 1996 to create national standards for the teaching of history. fascinating and instructive reading If the authors did no more than give us an account of the creation of and reaction to the national history standards, History on Trial would be essential reading. But they do much more. It is a wonderfully clear and concise overview of the changing ways in which Americans have, since the beginning of the republic, perceived and argued about our past. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. |
In My Father's House: Africa in the Philosophy of Culture by Kwame Anthony Appiah Available from Amazon $19.95 On 7-21-2006
See Item's Page Book Description The beating of Rodney King and the resulting riots in South Central Los Angeles. The violent clash between Hasidim and African-Americans in Crown Heights. The boats of Haitian refugees being turned away from the Land of Opportunity. These are among the many racially-charged images that have burst across our television screens in the last year alone, images that show that for all our complacent beliefs in a melting-pot society, race is as much of a problem as ever in America. In this vastly important, widely-acclaimed volume, Kwame Anthony Appiah, a Ghanaian philosopher who now teaches at Harvard, explores, in his words, "the possibilities and pitfalls of an African identity in the late twentieth century." In the process he sheds new light on what it means to be an African-American, on the many preconceptions that have muddled discussions of race, Africa, and Afrocentrism since the end of the nineteenth century, and, in the end, to move beyond the idea of race. In My Father's House is especially wide-ranging, covering everything from Pan Africanism, to the works of early African-American intellectuals such as Alexander Crummell and W.E.B. Du Bois, to the ways in which African identity influences African literature. In his discussion of the latter subject, Appiah demonstrates how attempts to construct a uniquely African literature have ignored not only the inescapable influences that centuries of contact with the West have imposed, but also the multicultural nature of Africa itself. Emphasizing this last point is Appiah's eloquent title essay which offers a fitting finale to the volume. In a moving first-person account of his father's death and funeral in Ghana, Appiah offers a brilliant metaphor for the tension between Africa's aspirations to modernity and its desire to draw on its ancient cultural roots. During the Los Angeles riots, Rodney King appeared on television to make his now famous plea: "People, can we all get along?" In this beautiful, elegantly written volume, Appiah steers us along a path toward answering a question of the utmost importance to us all. |
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