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This AfricaFocus contains a diverse selection of recent books likely to be of interest and new to AfricaFocus readers. You will find, for example, new books by Africa's distinguished elders, such as Achebe, wa Thiong'o, and Mandela. Selected new books from publishers such as Africa World Press, HSRC Press, and Aflame Books. Books on topical themes such as SMS activism and other ICT developments, on India and China's relations with Africa, and on xenophobia and migration. And more.

New Books from Distinguished Elders

Chinua Achebe, The Education of a British-Protected Child: Essays.

http://www.africafocus.org/books/isbn.php?0307272559

Chinua Achebe's characteristically measured and nuanced voice is everywhere present in these seventeen beautifully written pieces. In "The Education of a British-Protected Child," Achebe gives us a vivid portrait of growing up in colonial Nigeria and inhabiting its "middle ground," recalling both his happy memories of reading novels in secondary school and the harsher truths of colonial rule. The complex politics and history of Africa figure in "What Is Nigeria to Me?," "Africa's Tarnished Name," and "Politics and Politicians of Language in African Literature."

Nelson Mandela, Conversations with Myself, with a foreword by Barack Obama. Coming October 2010.

http://www.africafocus.org/books/isbn.php?0374128952

Conversations with Myself draws on Mandela's personal archive of never-before-seen materials to offer unique access to the private world of an incomparable world leader. Journals kept on the run during the anti-apartheid struggle of the early 1960s; diaries and draft letters written in Robben Island and other South African prisons; and more--from a historic collection of documents archived at the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Something Torn and New: An African Renaissance.

http://www.africafocus.org/books/isbn.php?0465009468

Novelist Ngugi wa Thiong'o has been a force in African literature for decades: Since the 1970s, when he gave up the English language to commit himself to writing in African languages, his foremost concern has been the critical importance of language to culture. In Something Torn and New, Ngugi explores Africa's historical, economic, and cultural fragmentation by slavery, colonialism, and globalization.

ICT

Yochai Benkler, The Wealth of Networks.

http://www.africafocus.org/books/isbn.php?0300125771

Technology trends that are lowering prices for accessing and producing information are fundamentally changing the opportunities for African countries to compensate for their structural disadvantages in the world economy.The phenomenon Benkler describes as social production is reshaping markets, while at the same time offering new opportunities. Benkler's book is a fundamental guide to the new realities of the information age.

Miriam de Bruijn, Francis B. Naymnjoh, Inge Brinkman, eds., Mobile Phones: The New Talking Drums of Everyday Africa.

http://www.africafocus.org/books/isbn.php?9956558532

Mobile phones have become part and parcel of the communication landscape in many urban and rural areas of Africa and the growth of mobile telephony is amazing: from 1 in 50 people being users in 2000 to 1 in 3 in 2008. Rich in theoretical innovation and empirical substantiation, this book brings together reflections on developments around the mobile phone by scholars of six African countries (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Mali, Sudan and Tanzania).

Sokari Ekine, ed., SMS Uprising: Mobile Activism in Africa.

http://www.africafocus.org/books/isbn.php?1906387354

Edited by Nigerian activist Sokari Ekine, who runs the prize-winning blog Black Looks, the book brings together some of the best known and experienced developers and users of mobile phone technologies in Africa, including Juliana Rotich from Ushahidi in Kenya, Ken Banks of Kiwanja.net, and Berna Ngolobe of WOUGNET in Uganda.

Don Osborn, African Languages in a Digital Age: Challenges and opportunities for indigenous language computing.

http://www.africafocus.org/books/isbn.php?0796922497

This book is the result of several years of observation, analysis, consultation and synthesis of the adaptation of ICTs to local languages in Africa. The goal of the Pan Africa Localization project led by Don Osborn was to closely track the progress of ICTs in African languages and clearly identify the priorities that the Pan African Network for Localization (ANLOC) will pursue in its work plan. This book is a revised version of the project's final report.

China, India, and Africa

For more books on China and Africa, see http://www.africafocus.org/books/china-africa.php

Harry Broadman, Africa's Silk Road: China and India's New Economic Frontier.

http://www.africafocus.org/books/isbn.php?0821368354

One of the earliest studies to call attention to the roles of China and India, from the World Bank. See excerpts in http://www.africafocus.org/docs06/asia0610.php

Fantu Cheru and Cyril Obi, eds. The Rise of China and India in Africa.

http://www.africafocus.org/books/isbn.php?1848134371

A wide-ranging newly published collection of essays, from the Nordic Africa Institute.

Prem Shankar Jha, Crouching Dragon, Hidden Tiger: Can China and India Dominate the West?

http://www.africafocus.org/books/isbn.php?1593762488

From an Indian scholar and policy analyst, a study that goes beyond hype into analysis of the policy and class contradictions in the policies of both countries.

More New Books from Featured Publishers

Aflame Books

Pauline Chiziane, Niketche

http://www.africafocus.org/books/isbn.php?1906300054

A farce that celebrates the triumph of six women over one philandering man, this novel uses an age-old African story to address the subjection of women in modern Mozambique. After 20 years of marriage, Rami discovers that her husband, a senior police officer in Maputo, has a very big secret: he has been supporting four other households, complete with wives and children, for many years. Rami turns the tables. She and the other women quickly join forces to demand their rights, their voices, and support for their children.

Africa World Press

Dike Okoro, ed., Speaking for the Generations: An Anthology of Contemporary African Short Stories.

http://www.africafocus.org/books/isbn.php?1592217192

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About AfricaFocus

This website, edited by William Minter, features high-quality analysis and progressive advocacy on African issues, with particular attention to priority issues affecting the entire continent. The heart of the website is the AfricaFocus Bulletin produced and distributed one to three times a week to over 4,300 subscribers, including individuals, organizations, and listservs. Current issues are featured on the homepage; a full archive is also available on the site.