A short history of Africa

This concise history of Africa has been in constant demand since it first appeared in 1962. Much had already been written on different regions of the continent and different periods of its long development, including colonial histories of the European powers, ephemeral articles on the emergent countries, studies of Africa's pre-history, etc.; but there had previously been nothing that offered the general reader an overall view of African history from the earliest times to the establishment of the Organization of African Unity and the events of the late 1960s.

The authors, who are both professors of African history, have drawn on the whole range of literature about Africa and on the evidence provided by archeology, oral traditions, language relationships, social institutions and material cultures to write this volume. A short history of Africa not only marshals the most authoritative views of African specialists into an absorbing narrative: it also puts forward original conclusions that take the study of Africa a stage further.