REVIEWS: The Africans: The History of a Continent

Covering a broad historical scope, eight of the 13 chapters address regional and thematic histories prior to 1900, balancing discussions of local development with the adaptation of global technologies and religions into an African context. When the first edition was published at the end of apartheid, Iliffe concluded that South Africa's transition would have to grapple with the larger post-colonial challenges ‘bred by demographic growth, mass poverty, urbanisation, education and the demands of youth’ (Iliffe 1994: 284). Detailing health, economic and political changes over the past decade, this latest chapter provides good data to challenge popular perceptions of contemporary histories of African ‘failure', without simplistically embracing the ‘Africa rising’ narrative.