The new edition of this comprehensive survey of African history provides an accessible overview of the continent’s narrative, focusing on the autonomy and achievements of the African people.

The book brings readers closer to an authentic Africa by paying close attention to the lives of everyday people and highlighting insights and ideas that are often missed in typical survey texts. The fourth edition offers expanded coverage of smaller linguistic and ethnic groups in Africa in order to provide a more inclusive history, noting a few individual groups while also analyzing their contributions to the overall narrative and African culture. Liberia’s hidden history is given greater attention in this updated volume, as well as the ethnic and religious tensions in Nigeria and Sudan. While the book emphasizes that African history is always being made, the fourth edition brings the record up to date and grapples with contemporary issues in culture and politics.

The History of Africa is an indispensable text for students and researchers in African history, cultural studies, philosophy, and politics.