The Shackled Continent by Robert Guest

The Shackled Continent

Power, Corruption, and African Lives

Robert Guest

Smithsonian · Print & ebook · September 14, 2010

A former Africa editor for The Economist, Robert Guest addresses the troubled continent's thorniest problems: war, AIDS, and above all, poverty.

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Who it’s for
Follow a provocative argument about leadership, poverty, and the hard-won possibility of African prosperity.
Genres
African Politics, The Developing World, African History
Published
Smithsonian, September 14, 2010

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About this book

A former Africa editor for The Economist, Robert Guest addresses the troubled continent's thorniest problems: war, AIDS, and above all, poverty. Newly updated with a preface that considers political and economic developments of the past six years, The Shackled Continent is engrossing, highly readable, and as entertaining as it is tragic.

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Guest pulls the veil off the corruption and intrigue that cripple so many African nations, posing a provocative theory that Africans have been impoverished largely by their own leaders' abuses of power. From the minefields of Angola to the barren wheat fields of Zimbabwe, Guest gathers startling evidence of the misery African leaders have inflicted on their people. But he finds elusive success stories and examples of the resilience and resourcefulness of individual Africans, too; from these, he draws hope that the continent will eventually prosper. Guest offers choices both commonsense and controversial for Africans and for those in the West who wish Africa well.

Power and Possibility

Follow a provocative argument about leadership, poverty, and the hard-won possibility of African prosperity.

Come here for

  • A rigorous look at poverty, political power, and its human costs
  • A reading that holds corruption alongside resilience and hope

Expect

  • Angola and Zimbabwe among the book’s examples
  • A mix of tragic realities, elusive successes, and controversial proposals

Where it sits

African Politics64%
African History30%
The Developing World28%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • African History
  • World Politics
  • The Developing World
Authors
Robert Guest
Publisher
Smithsonian
Published
September 14, 2010
Format
Print & ebook
Reading lane
African History