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Africa's Challenge to America:
Book by Bowles, Chester
134 pages, Hardcover
First published June 8, 1970
About the author
Chester Bowles
35 books2 followersChester Bliss Bowles was a diplomat and ambassador, Governor of Connecticut, Member of Congress (Congressman) and co-founder of a major advertising agency, Benton & Bowles, now part of Publicis Groupe.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 26, 2013
Written in 1956, this book is very 'modern' in its message. Bowles, a former American ambassador, after visiting a significant number of African countries and colonies, starts of by describing the current situation in Africa, mostly through the eyes of people living there at the time. He goes on to describe the, according to him, three crucial processes at work in Africa: The revolution of increasing expectations; the speed at which the 'Atlantic nations' use up their natural resources; the idealistic struggles between these Atlantic nations and the communist block.
Bowles continuous with an overview of how the colonial powers are handling their respective situations and ends with suggestions on how the USA could and should support these African colonies in obtaining their independence in an orderly fashion under the guidance of the USA.
Written in the late 50s, it is very interesting to see how Bowles predicted many of the issues that surfaced in Africa up to the 90s. Very surprising, because he also advocated actions and a style of thinking that mostly went against 'Western' thought at the time, supporting a quick handover of power to local authorities.
The only flaw in his thought process that I could discover was his inherent belief that Soviet, communist, support of African countries was wrong, simply because it was communist. He doesn't say it outright, but you can sense this opinion just below the surface of his words. However, the Soviet block, right after world war two, did what Bowles was advocating for the USA to do: Support the colonies politically to create a sound economic base, based on political and humanitarian principles.
Bowles continuous with an overview of how the colonial powers are handling their respective situations and ends with suggestions on how the USA could and should support these African colonies in obtaining their independence in an orderly fashion under the guidance of the USA.
Written in the late 50s, it is very interesting to see how Bowles predicted many of the issues that surfaced in Africa up to the 90s. Very surprising, because he also advocated actions and a style of thinking that mostly went against 'Western' thought at the time, supporting a quick handover of power to local authorities.
The only flaw in his thought process that I could discover was his inherent belief that Soviet, communist, support of African countries was wrong, simply because it was communist. He doesn't say it outright, but you can sense this opinion just below the surface of his words. However, the Soviet block, right after world war two, did what Bowles was advocating for the USA to do: Support the colonies politically to create a sound economic base, based on political and humanitarian principles.
Displaying 1 of 1 review