Africa, history of a continent

Davidson Basil

Published by Spring Books, hardcover with dustjacket, with photographs by Werner Forman


For this revised edition of his successful book, first published in 1966, Basil Davidson has brought up to date his coverage of modern African affairs and the situation facing the peoples of Africa at this crucial moment in their history.

But his achievement in the earlier parts of the book remains. Into a single volume he has gathered together the myriad strands of the history of the races spread across the face of this vast continent, both north and south of the Sahara. His personal studies over a long period and his analysis of archaeological research have enabled him to piece together valuable and surprisingly complete evidence of the ancient and medieval African cultures and their emergence into today's world. He tells the story of how these cultures developed internally and of the contacts with Asian, European and American cultures which influenced the direction of their development.

The well-known photographer, Werner Forman, himself an authority on African art, collaborated closely with Mr. Davidson in the selection of illustrations for the text, and himself travelled in Africa for more than eight months with the special purpose of assembling the magnificent gallery of his photographs presented in the book.

The illustrations depict the landscape, art, architecture and peoples of the continent, and include historical and documentary illustrations, together with r4 maps specially prepared for the book. The result of combining the knowledge and expertise of these two men is an extremely comprehensive and vivid picture of Africa and its historical culture.