An account of Africa's liberation from colonial oppression, a work that fundamentally reshapes our understanding of modern history. A work that recasts the liberation of twentieth-century Africa through the lens of revolutionary leader Kwame Nkrumah.
French...covers a lot of ground in a book that merges biography with panorama ... Ably treads the line on Nkrumah’s complicated legacy. French keeps reminding the reader of the larger context.
Not a complete biography. Instead, French’s portrait of Nkrumah acts as a hub for elucidating an intellectual history of Pan-Africanism ... Dazzling ... Blending his lucid, reportorial prose with his expertise in African, Black diasporic, and 20th-century political histories, French produces a dynamic, intricate sequence of documentary nonfiction.
This is a sprawling book, and the better for it. Mr. French has delivered a panoramic, sympathetic, yet analytical portrait of a global black movement, deepened by his own family connections with West Africa ... As the fastest-growing part of the world in population, Africa will matter more and more. And Mr. French is an expert guide to its nuances.
