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Africa Is Not A Country
- Author
- Dipo Faloyin
- Narrator
- Dipo Faloyin
- Publisher
- Random House
- Publish Date
- 7 April 2022
- Run Time
- 9 hours 34 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
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What to expect
Brought to you by Penguin.
Africa Is Not A Country is a kaleidoscopic portrait of modern Africa, that pushes back against harmful stereotypes to tell a more comprehensive story.
You already know these stereotypes. So often Africa is depicted simplistically as an arid red landscape of famines and safaris, uniquely plagued by poverty and strife. In this funny and insightful book, Dipo Faloyin offers a much-needed corrective, creating a fresh and multifaceted view of this vast continent.
To unspool this inaccurate narrative, Africa Is Not A Country looks to a wide range of subjects, from chronicling urban life in Lagos and the lively West African rivalry over who makes the best Jollof rice, to the story of democracy in seven dictatorships and the dangers of white saviourism and harmful stereotypes in popular culture.
It examines how each African country was formed, by white European explorers who turned up with loose maps and even looser morals, and how 90% of Africa's material cultural legacy was stolen during the colonial era, and the fight to get those artefacts back.
By turns intimate and political, Africa Is Not A Country brings the story of the continent towards reality, celebrating the energy and fabric of its different cultures and communities in a way that has never been done before.
© Dipo Faloyin 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022
Critics Review
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An exhilarating journey through the myths, misconceptions and stereotypes of modern Africa. This book is the history lesson that we all need, to understand the damage that has been done by legacies of white supremacy affecting African nations and the whole world.
Guardian
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Warm, funny, biting and essential reading.
Adam Rutherford, author of How To Argue With A Racist
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Powerful and heartfelt... A long-overdue and compelling corrective... Faloyin has written a book inspired by love and hope for a much-abused and maligned continent, whose future, he insists, is filled with promise.
Guardian
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For curious minds... a truly revelatory read... a book that will stay with you long after you've finished - and one that opens a new chapter on the way you'll think about Africa.
Mail on Sunday
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Impossible not to relish.
New York Times
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This book should be on the curriculum.
Nikki May, author of Wahala
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A necessary book that deserves its place in the canon as essential reading.
Irish Times
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A masterpiece in historical journalism, bristling with insights and perspective widening truths. Anyone seeking enlightenment needs to read this.
Jeffrey Boakye, author of I Heard What You Said
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Hilarious, ferocious, generous and convincing.
Oliver Bullough, author of Moneyland and Butler to the World
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Incisive, thought-provoking and, above all, beautifully written - effortlessly blends memoir, political analysis and historical nonfiction to create something genuinely compelling and new
Zing Tsjeng, author of Forgotten Women
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Dipo Faloyin
- Narrator
- Dipo Faloyin
- Duration
- 9 hours 34 minutes
- Release Date
- 7 April 2022
- ISBN
- 9781529194333
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Random House
- Genre
- Social and cultural anthropology, Cultural studies: customs and traditions, Ethnic groups and multicultural studies, Urban communities, African history, Cultural studies: food and society, Social groups, communities and identities
Synopsis
Brought to you by Penguin.Africa Is Not A Country is a kaleidoscopic portrait of modern Africa, that pushes back against harmful stereotypes to tell a more comprehensive story.You already know these stereotypes. So often Africa is depicted simplistically as an arid red landscape of famines and safaris, uniquely plagued by poverty and strife. In this funny and insightful book, Dipo Faloyin offers a much-needed corrective, creating a fresh and multifaceted view of this vast continent.To unspool this inaccurate narrative, Africa Is Not A Country looks to a wide range of subjects, from chronicling urban life in Lagos and the lively West African rivalry over who makes the best Jollof rice, to the story of democracy in seven dictatorships and the dangers of white saviourism and harmful stereotypes in popular culture.It examines how each African country was formed, by white European explorers who turned up with loose maps and even looser morals, and how 90% of Africa's material cultural legacy was stolen during the colonial era, and the fight to get those artefacts back.By turns intimate and political, Africa Is Not A Country brings the story of the continent towards reality, celebrating the energy and fabric of its different cultures and communities in a way that has never been done before.© Dipo Faloyin 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022
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