Chris Blattman

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The best intro to Africa I’ve read

I’ve been searching for a foundational text for my freshman lecture in African development. I think I’ve found it. If you’re an old hand to Africa, you won’t find much new to you in this volume (other than some comfort perhaps). But if you read this blog and feel a little behind the Africa curve, it couldn’t be a better, briefer source.

The author, Todd Moss, is a Senior Fellow at CGD and is currently the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Africa at the State Department.

5 Responses

  1. “This compulsively readable and accessible book is a masterpiece of clear thinking, comprehensiveness, balance, insight, and humor. It will meet the needs of all those who want to know more about Africa’s mixture of disappointment and promise.” says William Easterly.

  2. Naunihal,

    I use the same book with my students. It´s very useful to give some basic information about the main issues, but the one recommended by Chris looks wonderful.

  3. I use the “Fate of Africa” book as the text for my African politics lecture class. I don’t know how much history you do, but it’s the best text I’ve found (better than the textbooks) for giving students a background to the basic events.

  4. Thanks. It’s fixed. The answer, as always, is simpler and less sinister: laziness and carelessness.

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