5.0 out of 5 stars Pessimistic yet fascinating and highly informative account of recent African history

T.F.M. · February 23, 2008

_The Fate of Africa_ by Martin Meredith is a impressively through (688 pages) and yet highly readable account of the history of Africa - all of Africa, including North Africa - since independence, beginning (after a good introductory chapter on general African history) with the independence of the Gold Coast (becoming Ghana) in 1957 all the way up until events in the mid 2000s, including such issues as the genocide in Rwanda and Burundi, the civil wars in Liberia and Angola, the collapse of Joseph Desire Mobutu's Zaire, Nigerian delta oil politics, the genocide in Darfur, Robert Mugabe's ruinous reign over Zimbabwe and his seizure of white-owned farms, the AIDS epidemic, the advent and role of conflict diamonds, and post-Apartheid and post-Mandela politics in South Africa.Though this book could have been a sprawling if interesting mess, trying to cover fifty years of history of a huge continent, it isn't, as Meredith did a good job with the material. Part of it is from his excellent writing style and his vivid and engrossing portrait of Africa's often quite colorful leaders, but part of it is sad to say from a theme that gets hammered home again and again with many examples from fifty years of African history. With a special emphasis on the role of African leaders and their role in the fate of their countries, Meredith examines why, "after the euphoria of the independence era, so many hopes and ambitions faded and why the future of Africa came to be spoken of only in pessimistic terms." Though acknowledging the diversity of Africa, he noted that African states have much in common in terms of their origins and the problems they face. Time and again, Meredith in his country by country history of the continent provided tragic examples of states with vast economic potential being ruined by the "predatory politics of ruling elites seeking personal gain," often exploiting ethnic tensions for their own ends (it was sickening to read the political and economic motivations of those who helped fan the flames of genocide in Rwanda for instance, or how Mugabe essentially ended up ruining Zimbabwe, blaming and in the end chasing away the vital white farmers in order to cover up his own massive mistakes). Many though not all colonies at independence were often able to produce nearly all their own food and had a functioning infrastructure of roads, bridges, hospitals, schools, and a civil service as well as in many cases a thriving export industry, but after often epic mismanagement and corruption, massive embezzlement, squandering of national budgets on useless prestige projects, and ruinous involvement in foreign wars, most African states "have become hollowed out," no longer able to provide basic services, able to feed themselves, mired in debt, dependent upon international aid, the only ones in the country wealthy are governments themselves and the "vampire-like" politicians who run them as personal fiefdoms and who come to regard the populations they rule over "as yet another burden they have to bear in the struggle for survival." You can count on one hand the number of times African leaders have peacefully allowed themselves to be voted out of office, and even when regimes do change, as the result of either a military coup or a popular uprising, that despite initial hope and euphoria, the only result is a different group of politicians and their friends siphoning off a nation's resources and often times a different ethnic group being persecuted. Africa in the 1980s was dominated by Big Men, dictators who tolerated no opposition or dissent and whose faces appeared on currency notes and their faces looming over stores and offices. While many dictatorships in Africa fell in the early 1990s, a new breed of dictators emerged, adept at maintaining the appearance of a democracy in order to appease foreign aid donors while maintaining the same systems of patronage and autocratic rule of their predecessors, replacing "Big Man" rule with "Big Man democracy." Even attempts at reform backfired; when the IMF and the World Bank pushed African states towards parastatal reform, notably the privatization of public companies and factories, what instead emerged was "Crony capitalism" as government assets were instead sold off to select businessmen and friends on highly favorable terms (often ruinous to the government). In worse cases "cannibal capitalism" emerged as state-controlled industries were looted for the gain of politicians (so bad was the plundering in Zaire for instance of state-owned mining companies that copper production fell from 450,000 tons in the 1970s to 30,600 tons in 1994 and diamond production was nearly halved).Much of the book as noted is a country by a country account of the main points of recent African history. Some of the events might be fairly well known to the general reader, such as Algerian war of independence in the 1950s and 1960s and the1980s famine in Ethiopia (though I wager many of the details will be quite surprising). Other events a good deal less so, such as the insane regime of Francisco Macias Nguema in Equatorial Guinea (among other things, he personally hoarded all foreign currency, ordered foreigners ransomed to generate income, banned the use of the word "intellectual," and decreed that priest must reiterate slogans such as "There is no God other than Macias"), Julius Nyerere's socialist experiments in 1960s and 1970s Tanzania (which included mass nationalization and a gathering of the scattered rural population into poorly planned and poorly run communal "ujamaa" villages, a movement of some 11 million people, the largest mass movement in African history), and how the Rwandan genocide and resulting conflict's aftermath lead to a massive four year war in the late 1990s in Zaire in which 3 million people died and "like vultures picking over a carcass," Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Angola, and Zimbabwe engaged in a scramble for "the spoils of war," tearing apart the country fighting each other and trying to secure Congolese mineral wealth and their own private business empires.

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended for those interested in contemporary Africa

B.B. · December 24, 2012

THE FATE OF AFRICA is a political survey of the African continent beginning with the agitation for independence in the British colony of Gold Coast (Ghana) and the subsequent rise to power of Kwame Nkrumah, through contemporary events such as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa and the fighting in Darfur. Often bleak and brutal, author Martin Meredith charts the decline of the continent as a whole since independence, relying on statistics and personal accounts to to buttress the the national narratives. Eminently readable, Mr. Meredith divides the history into comprehensible story arcs (often occurring in tandem with the fall of one regime and the assumption of another), which are by turns frightening and compelling, yet always lucid.Readers like me, who have often found themselves confused when trying to mentally keep straight the various African nations, strong men, acronyms, and tribal affiliations reported in the news will undoubtedly find THE FATE OF AFRICA invaluable. Thus, those who have questioned how Unita, Joseph Savimbi, Cuba and Portugal fit together; or ZAPU, ZANU and the Rhodesian Front; or else simply would like to distinguish between figures like Charles Taylor, Robert Mugabe, Mobuto Sese Seko, etc, etc, etc, will have an excellent resource to answer their questions. The summary approach used here should also be helpful for those who would like to continue learning more details regarding any individual area, as many of these regions have become intertwined over the years.Along with author Meredith's matter-of-fact reportage, the organization and clarity of the book easily makes this a five-star effort, despite any shortcomings. On of which that stands out is the editorial choice to focus on the sensational (and horrifying) stories - of which there are plenty to choose from - and the short shrift successful states receive. Botswana, which the author points to as remarkable in its record of democracy and wise leadership, garners only a salutory paragraph near the beginning and a sentence in the afterward. But, given that the predominant story in Africa has been utter failure rather than success, I don't suppose it could have been done much differently and still been able to familiarize the reader with the names and organizations that have most often been in the world's spotlight.Readers who have a richer background in African history may also notice other faults - considering the scope of what Mr. Meredith has attempted here, I don't see how there couldn't be. But as a reference which clearly outlined the history of this period, I found it invaluable. Difficult to read at times due to the horrific events which have plagued Africa since independence, I still consider it a must read for those interested in this part of the world.

5.0 out of 5 stars The rule of kleptocracies.

K.M.Q. · March 16, 2006

This is the definitive history of African independence. Since the first states got their independence, the big man has taken over and used the state as his personal piggy bank. Meredith defines the history of the 50+ countries that make up Africa and tells of the often brutal and corrupt rule of the big man. It is no wonder that year after year, Western governments have been approached about bailing out a third world African government. There are few success stories here: Botswana, Senegal, and Tanzania. The rest of the countries are the most poorest and most corrupt in the world.This author does not really provide any solutions to the huge crisis that Africa now faces. Poor government and the rule of the big man obviously have to stop. Other conflicts plague Africa such as AIDS, tribal war, and huge debts. It is sad to stay that since colonialism, the people of this continent are worse off than when they were the subjects of a European state.African leaders blame the legacy of slavery and colonialism, but it now appears they are their own worst enemies.This is a great history of the misrule of African states. Most of the major and minor states are portrayed here. The author did a great job in organizing the material in a nice easy to read format. Great book.

This is the US edition of 'The State of Africa'

S. · June 28, 2007

We are advised to buy 'Fate of Africa' together with 'State of Africa', but they are the same book - 'Fate' is the US edition, 'State' is the UK edition. It's a very good account of the history of Africa, but I for one don't need two copies and would not have bought 'Fate' if I'd known it was the same as 'State', which I bought from Bolo 2 years ago. This is not the first time I have been misled in this way; Bolo really needs to provide better bibliographic details to help customers avoid wasting their money.

A depressing read in smany ways but an apparently well ...

V.A. · April 21, 2016

A depressing read in smany ways but an apparently well informed, well researched and balanced and unsentimental account of the realities and failings of both the African "leaders" since mid-20th century and the support by the Western world of that continent during that time which should be read by many and especially anyone interested in contemporary political issues.

Africa: Confused and Challenged

W.B. · May 10, 2015

A competent account of African politics and society since independence.

The same book, just another title

J.W. · January 26, 2007

I highly appreciated Mr. Meredith's book "The State of Africa. A History of Fifty Years of Independence", thus I was keen to read what I thought was a new book on Africa, only to find out that this edition is exactly the same, only published under another title.I am deeply disppointed that I as a customer was led to believe that Mr. Meredith had actually two different books published.Therefore, without having the intention to judge the brilliant, yet identical, content of the books, I still have to express my discontent for the irritating fact that one book is published twice.