Africa and the West: A Documentary History from the Slave Trade to Independence

(Hardback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

Primary source documents are valuable learning resources preferred by many teachers because they give student the chance to decipher and interpret the history themselves. Africa and the West presents a range of hard-to-find primary source documents on Africa from the slave trade that started in the early part of the fifteenth century to independence and the problems of the post-colonial period.

Reviews

[p]rovides a wonderful introduction into Africa's intersection with Europe through the words of the people who lived through it....[t]his is an excellent book....[t]he documents of this collection provide powerful evidence of the sheer level of thought, debate, struggle, and planning that went into every stage of the Africa/West experience from the first contacts between explorers and coastal peoples to the achievement of the new South Africa.-African Studies Quarterly
Africa and the West is a useful tool that many researchers will readily consult.-African History, Vol 44
Each document in this well-crafted history of slavery has an introduction describing its significance, authorship and the particular issue addressed....the real primary sources will challenge the high school researcher yet will provide a rich authentic view of the time and the issues.-Blanche Woolls & David Loertscher (GaleGroup.com)
This superb collection illuminates the West's impact on Africa from 1400 to 1994. Documents are organized in four historically thematic sections: the slave trade, from abolition to conquest, colonialism and its critics, and postindependence contradictions...The editors note that they have endeavored to publish documents that will interest audiences from middle school students to college graduates. They have succeeded. These highly readable selections will serve Africa well as they help students understand that African history is complex, engaging, and important.-International Journal of African Historical Studies
This work definitely fills a need....well constructed in a large format with a user-friendly typeface and an excellent index and graphics. It is less a refernce work than a teaching tool; thus its value will show itself more clearly in the classroom than in the library.-American Reference Books Annual
"provides a wonderful introduction into Africa's intersection with Europe through the words of the people who lived through it....this is an excellent book....the documents of this collection provide powerful evidence of the sheer level of thought, debate, struggle, and planning that went into every stage of the Africa/West experience from the first contacts between explorers and coastal peoples to the achievement of the new South Africa."-African Studies Quarterly
"[p]rovides a wonderful introduction into Africa's intersection with Europe through the words of the people who lived through it....[t]his is an excellent book....[t]he documents of this collection provide powerful evidence of the sheer level of thought, debate, struggle, and planning that went into every stage of the Africa/West experience from the first contacts between explorers and coastal peoples to the achievement of the new South Africa."-African Studies Quarterly
"Africa and the West is a useful tool that many researchers will readily consult."-African History, Vol 44
"Each document in this well-crafted history of slavery has an introduction describing its significance, authorship and the particular issue addressed....the real primary sources will challenge the high school researcher yet will provide a rich authentic view of the time and the issues."-Blanche Woolls & David Loertscher (GaleGroup.com)
"This work definitely fills a need....well constructed in a large format with a user-friendly typeface and an excellent index and graphics. It is less a refernce work than a teaching tool; thus its value will show itself more clearly in the classroom than in the library."-American Reference Books Annual
"This superb collection illuminates the West's impact on Africa from 1400 to 1994. Documents are organized in four historically thematic sections: the slave trade, from abolition to conquest, colonialism and its critics, and postindependence contradictions...The editors note that they have endeavored to publish documents that will interest audiences from middle school students to college graduates. They have succeeded. These highly readable selections will serve Africa well as they help students understand that African history is complex, engaging, and important."-International Journal of African Historical Studies

Author Bio

WILLIAM H. WORGER is Professor of History at the University of California, Los Angeles. Trained in African history at the University of Auckland (New Zealand) and at Yale University, he is the author of South Africa's City of Diamonds. Professor Worger has also taught at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and at Stanford University. NANCY L. CLARK is Professor of History at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, where she also directs the University's honors program. She is the author of Manufacturing Capital: State Corporations in South Africa. Currently she is at work on a history of South Africa during World War II, focusing especially on the impact of the war on African and female workers. EDWARD A. ALPERS is a Professor of History at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Alpers is former dean of honors and undergraduate programs at UCLA, as well as former president of the African Studies Association, the largest international scholarly organization devoted to the study of Africa.