Ten new book releases

Here’s some new reading matter to feed your interest in Africa over the coming months, compiled by Henry Bevan

Eyes Over Africa
Michael Poliza (31 July 2017)
From deserts to cities to grasslands, let your imagination be captured by some of the world’s most stunning landscapes seen from an aerial perspective. This new hardback edition is both compact and affordable, featuring Poliza’s famous photographs in a more accessible format.
Postcolonial Automobility: Car Culture in West Africa
Lindsey B. Green-Simms (2 October 2017)
A combination of history, sociology and anthropology, Postcolonial Automobility examines West Africa through the lens of the automobile. A unique and accessible take on contemporary issues, it promises to be a fascinating read – especially for those who have witnessed the innovative, and sometimes bizarre, use of the automobile in West Africa.
Global Africa: Into the Twenty-First Century
Dorothy Hodgson and Judith Byfield (1 August 2017)
For the economically-inclined reader, this comprehensive book features analysis of Africa’s contemporary situation with a focus on challenging the dominant narratives of violence, despair and victimhood. Containing contributions from renowned journalists, policy-makers and activists, it is an essential read for those interested in a progressive take on modern Africa.
In Search of Ancient North Africa: A History in Six Lives
Barnaby Rogerson (9 October 2017)
Distilled from experience gathered by forty years of travelling North Africa, this unique book, neither a work of history nor travel writing, tells the story of North Africa through the lives of five men and one woman. The forthcoming edition also features photographs by the world-renowned photographer Sir Donald McCullin.
Remembering Rhinos
Wildlife Photographers United (October 2017)
The follow-up to the hugely popular Remembering Elephants, Remembering Rhinos is a remarkable photographic tribute to endangered rhinos in Africa and Asia. A curated selection of images from the world’s top wildlife photographers, profits from this stunning 144-page coffee table book go to rhino protection projects via The Born Free Foundation.
Wake Me When I’m Gone
Odafe Atogun (3 August 2017)
The second novel by Nigerian author Odafe Atogan, Wake Me When I’m Gone tells the story of Ese, a young widow, and explores the complex relationship with tradition and motherhood faced by modern Nigerian women. Atogun, who has been acclaimed for his evocative writing style, captures the sense of a rural world changing fast, and the world-view of a people of remarkable strength.
African Theatre 16: Six Plays from East and West Africa
Jane Plastow and Martin Banham (17 Nov 2017)
A collection of some of the most imaginative plays to come out of East and West Africa from the 1970s to today, this volume deliberately avoids canonical works, focusing instead on a diverse set of lesser-known publications. The edition also contains new translations from Amharic and French, and each script is accompanied with an essay by the playwright and contextual overview.
A Moonless, Starless Sky: Ordinary Women and Men Fighting Extremism in Africa
Alexis Okeowo (3 October 2017)
The debut book by New Yorker journalist Alexis Okeowo, A Moonless, Starless Sky is both sensitive and powerful. Drawing on stories from Boko Haram opponents, basketball players in a war zone and many others, she skillfully illuminates lives often overlooked by the rest of the world. It is set to be one of the top works of literary journalism to emerge in 2017, and essential reading for anyone interested in Africa’s contemporary situation.
What is Africa to Me?
Maryse Condé (15 August 2017)
French-Caribbean author and feminist, Maryse Condé tells the story of her early life in 1960s Africa. This engaging work explores the formative years of independence in Guinea, Ghana and Senegal, alongside Condé’s encounters with Malcolm X, Che Guevara and Maya Angelou.
Phantom Africa
Micheal Leiris (15 August 2017)
Famously difficult to classify, this mesmerising account of 1930s Africa is a classic of French surrealist literature. As its first English translator, Brent Hayes Edwards skillfully renders Leiris’ bizarre and introspective diary, capturing his exotic delusions, anthropological notes and sensitive observations. It makes for a curious read and explores the wider social and political forces shaping Africa at the time in a different light.

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