Given Africa's size and diversity, historically, there has been relatively few books published about Africa. Most of what has been printed was done with small runs, so it is not widely available. Typically, a comparison between any two libraries will show a totally different selection in their Africa book collection. Finding specific titles can be very frustrating.
Though the continent is rich in oral history, epic legends, parables and other arts of word, very little of this has made it to the printed word. When transcribed, in their traditional structure, the material does not conform to the style sought by Western publishers so is most likely to be rejected.
In recent years the formation of African publishing houses has brought a lot more into print about Africa. This has significantly increased the diversity of view and subject in print. Unfortunately most of this material is extremely hard to find outside of Africa. While traveling in Africa it is worth making an effort to visit a local book shop to see what is on the shelf from the local publisher.
Not to be over looked is the significant body of excellent fiction by Africans. Many of their works fall into one of three categories: events of traditional life affected by foreign intrusion, events of modern life challenged by traditional pressure and historical fiction. Often both the intrusion and the pressure are in the form of religion. Through these stories emerges a picture of history, culture, values, philosophy, life-style, etc.
One fact of interest is that the bicycle appears in African literature with some regularity, especial in the fiction of Nigerian writers.
The books in the bibliography have generally, but not always, been published by U.S. or UK publishers. It still may be difficult to find them, but it is worth the effort.
Africa General: Art, culture, music, religion, folklore and parables, history, economics, development, literature, politics and philosophy.
Central Africa: Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Dem Rep of Congo (Zaire), Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda,
East Africa: Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda
Horn of Africa: Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia
North Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia
Southern Africa: Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe
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