false 4654716 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg 4654716 4 4669460 book 1 9 2008 Africa total:34|5:13|4:14|3:6|2:1|1:0| 34 141 135 17 1347368 4.15 34 17 69108595 506296 6339911 1586487531 9781586487539 5 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255977209m/6339911.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255977209s/6339911.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6339911-africa 3.75 4 2008 4 0 false Thu Aug 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 27 11:47:48 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 27 12:13:29 -0700 2009 more...]]> 57347017 1231623 6462287 184627155X 9781846271557 2 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6462287-africa 4.25 4 2008 5 1 false Tue May 26 04:54:49 -0700 2009 Tue May 26 04:55:25 -0700 2009 more...]]> 71086660 325582 4654716 1846271541 9781846271540 7 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4654716.Africa 4.14 22 2008 4 0 false Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 13 13:50:00 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 23 14:58:30 -0700 2009 more...]]> 54145168 1792502 4654716 1846271541 9781846271540 7 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4654716.Africa 4.15 34 2008 3 1 false Mon Apr 27 12:35:19 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 27 12:42:42 -0700 2009 more...]]> 81039048 2584739 4654716 1846271541 9781846271540 7 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4654716.Africa 4.15 34 2008 5 0 false Mon Dec 14 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Dec 14 19:39:44 -0800 2009 Mon Dec 14 19:56:05 -0800 2009 more...]]> 74315612 64617 6339911 1586487531 9781586487539 5 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255977209m/6339911.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255977209s/6339911.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6339911-africa 4.15 34 2008 2 0 false Sun Nov 22 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Oct 12 15:31:56 -0700 2009 Mon Nov 23 10:26:25 -0800 2009 more...]]> 58378150 279922 4654716 1846271541 9781846271540 7 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4654716.Africa 4.15 34 2008 4 0 false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 03 21:20:44 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 03 21:22:43 -0700 2009 more...]]> 64010845 1409713 6339911 1586487531 9781586487539 5 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255977209m/6339911.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255977209s/6339911.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6339911-africa 4.15 34 2008 0 0 false Sat Jul 18 14:03:45 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 18 14:03:55 -0700 2009 66719003 1677192 4654716 1846271541 9781846271540 7 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4654716.Africa 4.15 34 2008 5 0 false Sun Aug 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 09 01:08:43 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 09 20:42:17 -0700 2009 1 72429646 381263 4654716 1846271541 9781846271540 7 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4654716.Africa 4.15 34 2008 4 0 false Fri Sep 25 02:42:31 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 25 05:06:06 -0700 2009 74371889 2671243 4619496 3 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1258022958m/4619496.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1258022958s/4619496.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4619496.Africa_Altered_States_Ordinary_Miracles 4.50 4
Drawing on 30 years of travels, first as a teacher in Idi Amin’s Uganda and later as the chief writer about Africa for the Times, the Independent and this newspaper, before becoming director of the Royal Africa Society in 2003, Mr Dowden has organised his book by country—from Kenya to Senegal and from Congo to South Africa—all the while asking two questions: why is development so slow in Africa? And how, in the midst of so much savagery, does the humanity of Africans survive as one of the continent’s defining characteristics?

Mr Dowden maintains the reader’s interest by skilfully interweaving his research on the economic effects of AIDS and international aid into stories of myriad encounters with Africans rich and poor. He describes, for example, how he met the Mourides of Senegal, the followers of a 19th-century Islamic mystic and poet, Cheikh Amadu Bamba Mbakke, whose descendants operate an informal, yet highly effective, global trading system based entirely on trust. He goes on to contrast this portrait with the difficulties so many people have starting businesses in Africa or developing local manufacturing. Similarly, a visit to the Niger Delta leads him to ruminate about the curse of having abundant reserves of oil.

For Mr Dowden, Africa is a continent of people, not a place of exotica, or a destination for tourists. The boy pictured on the cover wears no shirt and is holding a ragged football, but he is not a beggar. He is just himself. Rather than using the boy as an anonymous symbol, as many would have done, Mr Dowden, typically, has tracked him down. His name is Baba and he is nine years old. He comes from Konkomba, in Accra, and like the author is an Arsenal supporter.]]> 2008 3 0 false Wed Nov 25 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Oct 13 05:34:00 -0700 2009 Wed Nov 25 14:57:32 -0800 2009
This is not really a book written by someone who has tra...more...]]> 36693287 1676039 4654716 1846271541 9781846271540 7 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4654716.Africa 4.15 34 2008 3 0 false Fri Nov 07 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 01 12:39:15 -0700 2008 Mon Nov 10 15:37:08 -0800 2008
It was a good book but I was expecting something more. It was easy to read but t...more...]]> 70313744 2682770 6462287 184627155X 9781846271557 2 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6462287-africa 4.15 34 2008 5 0 false Fri Oct 30 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 06 21:08:12 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 31 19:15:15 -0700 2009
A few of the later chapters lost my interest - South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya seemed to sprawl on - and others are must-reads for people who are not familiar with Africa. This book is 550+ pages, and I started to get exhausted. The last two chapters offer...more...]]> 34357933 144400 4619496 3 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1258022958m/4619496.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1258022958s/4619496.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4619496.Africa_Altered_States_Ordinary_Miracles 4.15 34
Drawing on 30 years of travels, first as a teacher in Idi Amin’s Uganda and later as the chief writer about Africa for the Times, the Independent and this newspaper, before becoming director of the Royal Africa Society in 2003, Mr Dowden has organised his book by country—from Kenya to Senegal and from Congo to South Africa—all the while asking two questions: why is development so slow in Africa? And how, in the midst of so much savagery, does the humanity of Africans survive as one of the continent’s defining characteristics?

Mr Dowden maintains the reader’s interest by skilfully interweaving his research on the economic effects of AIDS and international aid into stories of myriad encounters with Africans rich and poor. He describes, for example, how he met the Mourides of Senegal, the followers of a 19th-century Islamic mystic and poet, Cheikh Amadu Bamba Mbakke, whose descendants operate an informal, yet highly effective, global trading system based entirely on trust. He goes on to contrast this portrait with the difficulties so many people have starting businesses in Africa or developing local manufacturing. Similarly, a visit to the Niger Delta leads him to ruminate about the curse of having abundant reserves of oil.

For Mr Dowden, Africa is a continent of people, not a place of exotica, or a destination for tourists. The boy pictured on the cover wears no shirt and is holding a ragged football, but he is not a beggar. He is just himself. Rather than using the boy as an anonymous symbol, as many would have done, Mr Dowden, typically, has tracked him down. His name is Baba and he is nine years old. He comes from Konkomba, in Accra, and like the author is an Arsenal supporter.]]> 2008 5 0 false Thu Apr 23 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 02 08:33:22 -0700 2008 Thu Apr 23 09:42:53 -0700 2009 75999797 32819 6339911 1586487531 9781586487539 5 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255977209m/6339911.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255977209s/6339911.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6339911-africa 4.15 34 2008 0 0 false Thu Nov 12 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Oct 28 08:20:28 -0700 2009 Thu Dec 10 12:25:27 -0800 2009 35728946 327527 4619496 3 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1258022958m/4619496.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1258022958s/4619496.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4619496.Africa_Altered_States_Ordinary_Miracles 4.15 34
Drawing on 30 years of travels, first as a teacher in Idi Amin’s Uganda and later as the chief writer about Africa for the Times, the Independent and this newspaper, before becoming director of the Royal Africa Society in 2003, Mr Dowden has organised his book by country—from Kenya to Senegal and from Congo to South Africa—all the while asking two questions: why is development so slow in Africa? And how, in the midst of so much savagery, does the humanity of Africans survive as one of the continent’s defining characteristics?

Mr Dowden maintains the reader’s interest by skilfully interweaving his research on the economic effects of AIDS and international aid into stories of myriad encounters with Africans rich and poor. He describes, for example, how he met the Mourides of Senegal, the followers of a 19th-century Islamic mystic and poet, Cheikh Amadu Bamba Mbakke, whose descendants operate an informal, yet highly effective, global trading system based entirely on trust. He goes on to contrast this portrait with the difficulties so many people have starting businesses in Africa or developing local manufacturing. Similarly, a visit to the Niger Delta leads him to ruminate about the curse of having abundant reserves of oil.

For Mr Dowden, Africa is a continent of people, not a place of exotica, or a destination for tourists. The boy pictured on the cover wears no shirt and is holding a ragged football, but he is not a beggar. He is just himself. Rather than using the boy as an anonymous symbol, as many would have done, Mr Dowden, typically, has tracked him down. His name is Baba and he is nine years old. He comes from Konkomba, in Accra, and like the author is an Arsenal supporter.]]> 2008 5 0 false Mon Dec 15 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Oct 19 19:33:26 -0700 2008 Mon Dec 15 09:17:20 -0800 2008
http://fissuresinreality.blogspot.com/20...]]> 75261948 2352445 6339911 1586487531 9781586487539 5 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255977209m/6339911.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255977209s/6339911.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6339911-africa 4.15 34 2008 0 0 false Wed Oct 21 11:07:52 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 21 11:08:05 -0700 2009 81998968 2451587 6462287 184627155X 9781846271557 2 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6462287-africa 4.15 34 2008 0 0 false Fri Dec 25 06:16:38 -0800 2009 Fri Dec 25 06:16:40 -0800 2009 81512270 3058880 6339911 1586487531 9781586487539 5 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255977209m/6339911.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255977209s/6339911.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6339911-africa 4.15 34 2008 0 0 false Sat Dec 19 16:23:04 -0800 2009 Sat Dec 19 16:23:04 -0800 2009 81027846 2611644 4654716 1846271541 9781846271540 7 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4654716.Africa 4.15 34 2008 4 0 false Sat Dec 19 10:18:13 -0800 2009 Mon Dec 14 18:06:28 -0800 2009 Sat Dec 19 10:18:13 -0800 2009 8 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=4654716