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For Beginners
African History For Beginners
African History For Beginners explores the rich history of this continent of contrasts. Discover the glory of the Pharaohs and Towers of Zimbabwe, the cosmology of the Yoruba, the courage of the Masai and the golden wonders of Mali, the art treasures of the Bushongo and the sophistication of the Egyptians. It is a unique documentary portrait of the Africans' struggle to preserve their cultural heritage and homeland.
Recent archeological discoveries indicate that Africa was the birth place of humankind. Over the ages, the riches and wonders of Africa have attracted the world. Yet the Africans themselves often remained unknown or misunderstood. Here is a book to set the historical record straight.
Recent archeological discoveries indicate that Africa was the birth place of humankind. Over the ages, the riches and wonders of Africa have attracted the world. Yet the Africans themselves often remained unknown or misunderstood. Here is a book to set the historical record straight.
128 pages, Paperback
First published February 29, 1992
About the author
Herb Boyd
44 books39 followersHerb Boyd is an awarding-winning American author and journalist who has published 17 books and countless articles for national magazines and newspapers. Brotherman:The Odyssey of Black Men in America: An Anthology (One World/Ballantine, 1995), co-edited with Robert Allen of the Black Scholar journal, won the American Book Award for nonfiction. In 1999, Boyd won three first place awards from the New York Association of Black Journalists for his articles published in the Amsterdam News.
In 2006, Boyd worked with world music composer Yusef Lateef on his autobiography The Gentle Giant, which was published by Morton Books of New Jersey. In 2008, he published Baldwin's Harlem: A Biography of James Baldwin, and is working with filmmaker Keith Beauchamp on several projects. Boyd has been inducted into both the Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent and the Madison Square Garden Hall of Fame as a journalist.
Along with his writing, Boyd is also the Managing Editor of The Black World Today, one of the leading online publications on the Internet. Boyd, a graduate of Wayne State University in Detroit, teaches African and African-American History at the College of New Rochelle in the Bronx, and is an adjunct instructor at City College in the Black Studies Department.
In 2006, Boyd worked with world music composer Yusef Lateef on his autobiography The Gentle Giant, which was published by Morton Books of New Jersey. In 2008, he published Baldwin's Harlem: A Biography of James Baldwin, and is working with filmmaker Keith Beauchamp on several projects. Boyd has been inducted into both the Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent and the Madison Square Garden Hall of Fame as a journalist.
Along with his writing, Boyd is also the Managing Editor of The Black World Today, one of the leading online publications on the Internet. Boyd, a graduate of Wayne State University in Detroit, teaches African and African-American History at the College of New Rochelle in the Bronx, and is an adjunct instructor at City College in the Black Studies Department.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 10, 2020
3 1/2 stars. The title and format might make you think this is just for children and you would be wrong. While it does not go into real depth with any one civilization--the length of the book and the expanse of what is being covered do not allow it--some references, terms and people mentioned assumes a certain amount of knowledge I would not expect in a school kid. It is informative and points out some of the very insulting conclusions European historians have made about African civilizations (like any sophisticated monument or material artifact discovered must have been based on European accomplishments). There are a lot of illustrations but a number have the characteristics of a too dark xerox copy and there is a lot of detail lost. This may be on purpose but I wish there was clearer detail.
March 24, 2019
This was a very strange book. It was written from the voice of the griot, and it meandered through ancient history up to the 1600s. It included myths/stories and objects like drums and artifacts. It was kind of hard to read, because many of the pages had the words separated into chunks in different parts of the page, among pictures that often didn't really add to the book. The narration from the griot was an odd thing -- I like the idea of it, but in practice, I think it made it hard to follow what was history vs. story vs. other. The history parts were mostly in ultra summary form, switching from one to the next very quickly. The timeline at the end of the book was more helpful. It was good as a very brief overview (for "beginners"), but when I read the first page or two, I almost put it away and didn't go back. Decided to follow through and see what I could get from it, but it's definitely not for everyone.
October 15, 2025
It never ceases to amaze me how little attention is paid to Africa - it is almost as if there is a concerted effort to diminish the accomplishments of African civilization - I am going to use a strong word here: almost a collaborative 'erasure' of the rich history of this mother continent. Read this book, then pass it on...your eyes will be opened.
November 26, 2015
This is an interesting book in parts, yet a very disappointing and patronising one too. Also, this was first published back in 1994, so there is more up to date information, which could have been included, for example, there is very little information in the book about the Nubian Kings (25th Dynasty), yet they were known about before the 1990s, despite Nubian sculptures being found of late.
The title is 'African History', but looks at mainly ancient African history from 40,000 BCE and early humans - 1695 CE when the Ashanti Nation is founded. It doesn't cover anything over the last few centuries, avoiding colonial and post colonial history, which is of interest too.
There are some interesting facts about some of the tribes, some myths, important people, some events, but not enough. Some of the earliest churches and Christian writings would have been made by Egyptian and Ethiopian scholars and practitioners. Herodotus and Cassius Dio wrote about Africa, yet they don't feature. Africa as a continent has a mixture of different peoples. Lots of various events have taken place within each region, but I'm not sure that this has been very well conveyed.
It touches very briefly on racist assumptions made by Europeans that indigenous Africans couldn't build structures and this might have been why Jebel Barkal, (was used preceding the Nubian Kings, but was also re-used by them) and the Nubian Kings don't feature. There are no notes to see where the sources have come from.
The information in the book is told by a griot, a storyteller/historian and this is done in a very childish way. Who is this book for? There is quite a good (yet old) bibliography. I'm not convinced that the author read much of what is on the list. Being familiar with some of the authors myself, more information could have been gathered for this book. Best to look elsewhere. A 'beginners guide' should be informative and make you want to know more about this amazing continent. Sadly, this fails. A pity...
The title is 'African History', but looks at mainly ancient African history from 40,000 BCE and early humans - 1695 CE when the Ashanti Nation is founded. It doesn't cover anything over the last few centuries, avoiding colonial and post colonial history, which is of interest too.
There are some interesting facts about some of the tribes, some myths, important people, some events, but not enough. Some of the earliest churches and Christian writings would have been made by Egyptian and Ethiopian scholars and practitioners. Herodotus and Cassius Dio wrote about Africa, yet they don't feature. Africa as a continent has a mixture of different peoples. Lots of various events have taken place within each region, but I'm not sure that this has been very well conveyed.
It touches very briefly on racist assumptions made by Europeans that indigenous Africans couldn't build structures and this might have been why Jebel Barkal, (was used preceding the Nubian Kings, but was also re-used by them) and the Nubian Kings don't feature. There are no notes to see where the sources have come from.
The information in the book is told by a griot, a storyteller/historian and this is done in a very childish way. Who is this book for? There is quite a good (yet old) bibliography. I'm not convinced that the author read much of what is on the list. Being familiar with some of the authors myself, more information could have been gathered for this book. Best to look elsewhere. A 'beginners guide' should be informative and make you want to know more about this amazing continent. Sadly, this fails. A pity...
November 17, 2014
This was an absolutely great book. There are things that we will never learn sitting in a classroom inside an American institution.
As a writer, jewels like this are absolutely necessary for research.
As a reader, it was an interesting read filled with a vast number of rich illustrations to compliment the text.
As a professional African American and amateur historian, it is a more indepth look at the African Culture that is delivered in bite sized chunks without an agenda.
As a writer, jewels like this are absolutely necessary for research.
As a reader, it was an interesting read filled with a vast number of rich illustrations to compliment the text.
As a professional African American and amateur historian, it is a more indepth look at the African Culture that is delivered in bite sized chunks without an agenda.
August 7, 2009
Not sure what I've just finished reading. Without question the most badly-organized, content-free history book I have ever read. To say it is "packed with misinformation" is to imply there is much information here in the first place. There's not.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews