20th Century History

One of the great tragedies of Africa is not only the fact that a million people-mostly civilians and a large proportion of them children-died in one of Africa's first post-independence...

Nelson Mandela is widely considered to be one of the most inspiring and iconic figures of our age. Now, after a lifetime of taking pen to paper to record thoughts...

"The Emperor", Haile Selassie: King of Kings, Lion of Judah - the absolute ruler of Ethiopia for 44 years, and possibly one of the most corrupt leaders of our time....

Nelson Mandela stands out as one of the most admired political figures of the twentieth century. It was his leadership and moral courage above all that helped to deliver a...

Sandstorm is the best kind of reportage, humane, historically-informed and full of details that only a writer close to the action could have noticed. The overthrow of Muamar Gadaffi has...

An indispensable introductory textbook that provides students with a genuinely comparative study of the different trajectories and experiences of independent African states. Paul Nugent explores a range of key concerns...

The captivating and emotional true tale of a journey through doomed love, personal discovery and the tragic story of colonial Zimbabwe. A few years ago, Owen Sheers stumbled upon a...

Widely considered to be the most important biography of Nelson Mandela, Antony Sampson's remarkable book has been updated with an afterword by acclaimed South African journalist, John Battersby. Long after...

A unique, startling book that gives a rich and detailed sense of life in an African port some 360 years ago In 1665 Crispina Peres, the most powerful trader in...

Through a collection of Archbishop Desmond Tutu's speeches, letters, sermons and off-the-cuff remarks, this book sketches the story of South Africa from 1976, when apartheid oppression was at its peak,...

*Shortlisted for the 2024 Wolfson History Prize* 'Gripping and profoundly moving' DAMON GALGUT 'Deft and operatic' OBSERVER From one of South Africa's foremost nonfiction writers, a deeply researched, shattering new...

Leah Chishugi grew up in eastern Congo but, aged seventeen, she moved to Kigali, the Rwandan capital, to work as a model. She married and had a son. Then in...

'A historically insightful read' Financial Times 'A wry, rollicking, and provocative history' Michael Taylor, author of The Interest 'A thought-provoking analysis of Africa's relationship with economic imperialism' Astrid Madimba and...

'A historically insightful read' Financial Times 'A wry, rollicking, and provocative history' Michael Taylor, author of The Interest 'A thought-provoking analysis of Africa's relationship with economic imperialism' Astrid Madimba and...

*Shortlisted for the 2024 Wolfson History Prize* 'Gripping and profoundly moving' DAMON GALGUT 'Deft and operatic' OBSERVER From one of South Africa's foremost nonfiction writers, a deeply researched, shattering new...

In early 1997 Peter Penfold, arrived in Sierra Leone as the British High Commissioner. This fascinating book describes not just his eventful three year tour but the background and subsequent...

'A lyrical investigation ... both powerful and transcendent' CHIGOZIE OBIOMA'Acutely observed, hauntingly rendered and deeply affecting' AMINATTA FORNA'Both epic and intimate' MARGO JEFFERSON An astonishing search for a missing person,...

'A lyrical investigation ... both powerful and transcendent' CHIGOZIE OBIOMA'Acutely observed, hauntingly rendered and deeply affecting' AMINATTA FORNA'Both epic and intimate' MARGO JEFFERSON An astonishing search for a missing person,...

*Shortlisted for the 2024 Wolfson History Prize* 'Gripping and profoundly moving' DAMON GALGUT 'Deft and operatic' OBSERVER From one of South Africa's foremost nonfiction writers, a deeply researched, shattering new...

From the acclaimed author of The Lost Pianos of Siberia, comes a new journey tracing a colonial-era African expedition. In 1879, King Leopold II of Belgium launched an ambitious plan...

'Only with the greatest of simplifications, for the sake of convenience, can we say Africa. In reality, except as a geographical term, Africa doesn't exist'. Ryszard Kapuscinski has been writing...

Young Elizabeth captures in vivid detail perhaps the single-most important formative experience in Queen Elizabeth's life, the 1947 royal tour of southern Africa with her parents King George VI, Queen...

The gruesome history of the Congo-Ocean Railway, a forgotten chapter in the story of colonial Africa. In September 1927, a 30-year-old man was taken from his village in the French...

The gruesome history of the Congo-Ocean Railway, a forgotten chapter in the story of colonial Africa. In September 1927, a 30-year-old man was taken from his village in the French...

Author: Benedicte Savoy Format: Hardback Number of Pages: 240 A major new history of how African nations, starting in the 1960s, sought to reclaim the art looted by Western colonial...

'A lyrical investigation ... both powerful and transcendent' CHIGOZIE OBIOMA'Acutely observed, hauntingly rendered and deeply affecting' AMINATTA FORNA'Both epic and intimate' MARGO JEFFERSONAn astonishing search for a missing person, the...