Citation
Reader, John. Africa: A Biography of the Continent. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 1999. Google Books Link
Excerpts
| Page | Quote | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 135 | ”The good times [ecologically] were occasions for […] personal adornment and expanded use of symbols in art and daily life. The bad times inspired major technological developments” | |
| 135 | ”throughout the continent, the partial isolation, self-sufficiency, and low density of the human population minimized the potential for competition between groups.” | |
| 135 | ”No incentive for change, and the customary way of doing things was likely to have acquired the aura of tradition. There was time for ritual to develop, subtly reinforcing the validity of traditional ways.” | |
| 174 | ”The first hint that milk might not be universally ‘good for you’ was noted by western nutritionists during the 1960s, in the aftermath of international foreign aid programmes which had shipped millions of tons of dried milk around the world and found their generosity greeted with less than total appreciation.” | |
| 232 | ”Inter-ethnic clashes feature prominently in the myths, legends, and stories of the [Niger] delta, for instance, but the message is adaptive. The stories tell of conflict arising from differing priorities of land use, but emphasize the negative consequences of deviating from the established patterns of inter-ethnic behavior, not the glories of victory.” | |
| 242 | ”The strategy [of avoiding tsetse-fly-infested regions] avoided the risk of trypanosomiasis, but also denied humans access to almost two-thirds of the potentially food-producing regions of sub-Saharan Africa.” | |
| 333 | Citation: Crosby, Alfred W. 1986. Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900. Cambridge University Press. | |
| 343 | ”Between 1500 and 1535 (the only period for which such records exist) they [Portugal] shipped 10000 to 12000 slaves across the Bight of Benin from the Slave Coast to the Gold Coast, and sailed onward to Portugal with rich cargoes of gold [ Ghana ], ivory [ Cote d’Ivoire ], and pepper [ Liberia ].“ | |
| 456 | ”[Khoisan rebellion leaders] They also asked, whether, if they were to come to Holland, they would be permitted to act in a similar manner[!]“ | |
| 479 | ”Refugees fleeing [Portuguese slavers] south-westwards gathered in the mountains of what is now Lesotho” | |
| 479 | ”Sobhuza’s proto-Swazi likewise retreated to the mountains and founded a nation” Eswatini | |
| 584 | ”Seizing on misinterpretations arising from differences in the Amharic and Italian texts of the [1885] treaty, Italy picked a quarrel and self-righteously invaded northern Ethiopia in 1890.” |
Zotero Metadata
Abstract
“Awe-inspiring … a masterly synthesis.” —“The New York Times Book Review “Deeply penetrating, intensely thought-provoking and thoroughly informed … one of the most important general surveys of Africa that has been produced in the last decade.” —“The Washington Post In 1978, paleontologists in East Africa discovered the earliest evidence of our divergence from the apes: three pre-human footprints, striding away from a volcano, were preserved in the petrified surface of a mudpan over three million years ago. Out of Africa, the world’s most ancient and stable landmass, Homo sapiens dispersed across the globe. And yet the continent that gave birth to human history has long been woefully misunderstood and mistreated by the rest of the world. In a book as splendid in its wealth of information as it is breathtaking in scope, British writer and photojournalist John Reader brings to light Africa’s geology and evolution, the majestic array of its landforms and environments, the rich diversity of its peoples and their ways of life, the devastating legacies of slavery and colonialism as well as recent political troubles and triumphs. Written in simple, elegant prose and illustrated with Reader’s own photographs, Africa: A Biography of the Continent is an unforgettable book that will delight the general reader and expert alike. “Breathtaking in its scope and detail.” —“San Francisco Chronicle
Metadata
FirstAuthor:: Reader, John
Title:: Africa: A Biography of the Continent ShortTitle:: Africa Year:: 1999
Citekey:: reader_africa_1999
itemType:: book
Publisher:: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
ISBN:: 978-0-679-73869-5