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A Continent for the Taking: The Tragedy and Hope of Africa

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In A Continent for the Taking Howard W. French, a veteran correspondent for The New York Times , gives a compelling firsthand account of some of Africa’s most devastating recent history–from the fall of Mobutu Sese Seko, to Charles Taylor’s arrival in Monrovia, to the genocide in Rwanda and the Congo that left millions dead. Blending eyewitness reportage with rich historical insight, French searches deeply into the causes of today’s events, illuminating the debilitating legacy of colonization and the abiding hypocrisy and inhumanity of both Western and African political leaders.

While he captures the tragedies that have repeatedly befallen Africa’s peoples, French also opens our eyes to the immense possibility that lies in Africa’s complexity, diversity, and myriad cultural strengths. The culmination of twenty-five years of passionate exploration and understanding, this is a powerful and ultimately hopeful book about a fascinating and misunderstood continent.

280 pages, Paperback

First published April 20, 2004

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About the author

Howard W. French

10 books170 followers
Howard W. French is an associate professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where he has taught both journalism and photography since 2008. For many years, he was a Senior Writer for The New York Times, where he spent most of a nearly 23 year career as a foreign correspondent, working in and traveling to over 100 countries on five continents.

From 1979 to 1986, he lived in West Africa, where he worked as a translator, taught English literature at the University of Ivory Coast, and lived as a freelance reporter.

Until July 2008, he was the chief of the newspaper’s Shanghai bureau. Prior to this assignment, he headed bureaus in Japan, West and Central Africa, Central America and the Caribbean. Mr. French’s work for the newspaper in both Africa and in China has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. He has won numerous other awards, including the Overseas Press Club award and the Grantham Prize. French speaks English, Chinese, Japanese, French, and Spanish.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
Profile Image for Margitte.
1,188 reviews652 followers
January 13, 2016
Mmmmm.....not sure what I think about the book.

Informative ... perhaps, for an uninformed American reader;
Exciting ... if you read it as a travel journal and not want to make sense of a drunken tick on a hot stove plate;
Riveting ... if you try to wear a sock as a balaclava;
Prose ... newspaper style;
Repetitive ... how many times to you need to sing 'Happy Birthday' to your 150-year-old gramma? Well, you have to be alive to do that, right?
Going against the grain of popular believe? ... it doesn't sell, bro!
Historical background information ... yes, scores a point!
Biased ... only if you want to ignore the infrastructure, schools, universities, hospitals, road networks, Stock Exchanges, developed cities and other mishaps of colonialism in Africa, compared to what WAS left by anyone precolonial times, as in since 6000 years ago, and what IS LEFT OVER postcolonial period. Let's see: war, and more war, and even more war, over population, serious overgrazing, unimaginable poverty, corruption, and the cocktail of misery that is so popular in the news ... oh did I mention that wars ruled Africa since Adam and Eve corrupted it from day one? Oops, the author failed to include this background information. Oh and then there's only the wars which should be blamed on colonialism. Absent from the book: ... the tribal wars, raging since the first Neanderthal clan started walking upright, which stopped during colonial times, so by the way, and continued afterwards when different tribes took over governments and callously ruled over others - the latter was mentioned in the book;
Political impact - excellent! Mother Africa has plenty to offer to a mineral-stricken rest of the world. She will always be ravished in the bloody, brutal way of global greed.
Cover design ... says it all.
Readability ... Try getting to the halfway point intact, then proceed on your own risk. CAUTION: boredom can kill;

Conclusion: Not the best eye-opening book I have ever read about central region of Africa, but necessary to read for those who enjoy the products coming from African soil and want to turn a blind eye instead.

I would have appreciated a much more balanced view, which could have been an ode to honesty as well. However, the book is an unemotional, uninvolved, biased rendition of modern central African history (the popular trend-way), although some background information on the precolonial times were mentioned - selectively. And that's where it loses it stars.
Profile Image for Scot.
956 reviews32 followers
July 29, 2008
Having recently been powerfully moved by Uwem Akpan's short stories about suffering in different parts of Africa, and feeling guilty that I didn't know enough about some of the political struggles that ravaged that continent in the 1990s (the contexts, the varying perspectives, the cultural traditions and influences, the key players), when this book was recommended to me by a friend planning a trip to Ethiopia, I gladly borrowed it. Before I began the book I had a general sense of the devastating impact of colonialism, the long traditions of corruption and military dictatorship, and the tendency of the West (and the United States foreign policy) to disregard African human and civil needs in favor of superpowers' economic goals (keeping natural resources flowing into the hands of our corporations in the most cost-effective manner, with little regard or thought of impact on those living in these lands). This book taught me a lot, providing geography review while instructing in a range of national histories since colonialism ended--showing the evil legacies from that system that still thrive in Africa today, but also offering glimpses of hope and strength in the perseverance and vitality of traditional African cultures and peoples despite the anguish many must live with daily.

The author, Howard W. French, is an international writer for the New York Times, an African American who was raised in Africa by parents working for the World Health Organization, He knows these cultures and their intricate and complex political histories well, and is able to give first hand accounts of coups, crises, genocides, along with character descriptions not only of despots, generals, and diplomats, but also of popular authors, boy soldiers, or struggling single mothers.

The writing is cogent, and many of the exciting tales make for gripping narrative. Because so much is covered, occurring in so many different places on a huge continent, I recommend regularly flipping back to the excellent map immediately following the table of contents, cross referencing as the memoir moves from place to place within and across so many nations.

Among the major incidents covered were the overthrow of a government in Nigeria amid struggles for control of oil revenues; the Ebola outbreak in central Africa (who was helped and how); revolutions in Congo-Brazzaville and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (earlier known as Zaire)--and I want to note this book helps immensely in understandiong similarities and great differences between these two Congos, one a French colony the other Belgian, their capital cities just across the river from each other yet very distinct in their ambiances and traditions. Also covered are civil war in Liberia and the too often ignored vengenance genocide of the refugee Hutu in the jungles of the Congo following the Rwanda genocide of the Tutsi. All genocides are evil and wrong, and every time I read of politicians (including those representing me) turning a blind eye to overt ethnic cleansing, even if it is a vengeance claim of getting even, I am sorely depressed. Still, amidst the great pain and suffering--and wasted opportunity--that this book details, there endures a sense of hope of what Africa could and should become if it could only get more humanitarian and developmental support from world powers not so interested in using the continent's population as pawns in pursuit of their own selfish ends. On a less lofty note, French also offers some fascinating survival and strategy skills for dealing with corrupt border guards, sneaking into forbidden zones, or coping with malaria, as well as delightful introductions to the grand Mosque of Djenne, the pop music of Fela Anikulapo Kuti, and the reign of King Ibrahim in Cameroon.
Profile Image for Nathaniel.
113 reviews80 followers
August 20, 2007
Unlike some of the other African travel writing and reportage on my African shelf, French's book is uncompromisingly fact-laden and dense. There are a few moments when the history that he lived through gathers enough speed around certain imperiled individuals or groups to make the book gripping and fast-paced; but, on average, it requires careful attention that borders on note-taking to keep track of the motivations and backgrounds of the different players in French's account (unless you have already committed the recent history of Central Africa to memory).

The pace of the book is not helped by the random, loosely structured way that it leaps across decades and continents from one chapter to another. It could definitely have used smoother transitions and it would have benefited from a more thought out structure; it is really a collection of essays and an opportunity for French to air some of the grievances and experiences that (I imagine) he was not allowed to share with readers of The New York Times, for which he worked.

I also got the sense that because he was granted such unparalleled journalistic access and because he was always aware of representing the New York Times, he didn't engage as much with African people and African culture as authors like Aidan Hartley or Paul Theroux. French seemed, at times, to be above the real situations and distanced from the real people, constantly hopping onto safe transport for a timely exit--and, more importantly, while he remained on the ground, he seemed more likely to spend his time at the hotels that served as the nexus of western reporting or to lounge about with various privileged people who wished to appear in his writings than to fraternize with random, non-influential Africans for the sake of better understanding their culture and ways.

That said, I feel like I understand the last two decades in Central Africa MUCH better than I did before this book, especially as regards the wars in Congo and the appallingly two-faced and negligent foreign policy decisions of the Clinton Administration, which has somehow escaped prominent or consistent blame and accusation for the giant drop kick away from democracy that it managed to offer Africa in the nineties.

Lastly, it was refreshing to encounter those rare moments when French shows his own attitude and frustration, lashing out, for instance at the "Big Man" stereotype used to explain some of Africa's governance failures, "Africa's dictators had been supported for decades by East and West, and were often handpicked by outside powers. their misrule had placed the continent in the deep hole it now found itself in, not some congenital incapacity for modern governance, as decades of shallow analyses about Big Men and 'ancient tribal animosities' often insinuated." French doesn't share such blunt conclusions very often; but when he does, he has more than proven himself correct in the preceding pages.
Profile Image for David.
548 reviews53 followers
August 1, 2015
I have no quarrel with the author’s problem of exploitation in central Africa by the western world and its propped up dictators but I found his method of delivery grating. There’s a trace of bitterness and arrogance in his style that runs throughout the book that became increasingly distracting as the book went along.

One other problem I had, which I seem to have with many 2 star books, is the author’s habit of putting people into either the “good guy” or “bad guy” categories. There are many bad guys here, no doubt, but there are are greater issues at hand such that boiling people down into monochrome caricatures isn’t very useful or enlightening.

There are better books on the subject of central Africa than this one.
Profile Image for Khasai.
64 reviews8 followers
June 15, 2025
really rich! a good read! heartbreaking with DRC conflict still going on plus Sudan civil war plus insurgency in the Sahel plus democratic backsliding on the continent. sometimes i wonder where is the bottom and how can we can reset/learn/ just stop. yeah. i need something more hopeful after this. i fear getting fatigued. i know the hope is in the people, but when will good governance arrive? when will they care? exhausting.
Profile Image for Matt.
288 reviews3 followers
April 3, 2010
Haunting, depressing, one must look very deep to see the "Hope" side of this book.

After having the privilege of spending two years of my life in Mali, this book has placed an explanation point on the significance and very unique qualities that is "Malian Culture".

Toward the book, I admire Mr. French's pursuit of the un-whitewashed truth, even when it revealed my own country (USA) to hold partial responsibility for the senseless killing and crimes that have taken place in several countries on a beautiful continent. France, Belgium, Portugal, England, China: you are all guilty, too.

I really must leave my review here, otherwise it just turns into a rant about how Western Politicians have ignored, denied, even condoned killing, war crimes, and supported terrible dictators in the spirit of promoting "spheres of influence" or holding "strategic resources".
Profile Image for Marija.
8 reviews
June 25, 2015
I must say, this book is nothing I expected it to be. I thought it would be a pan-African account of modern history. It was more of an autobiographic experience of French in Liberia, DR Congo, and few other countries.

I enjoyed the way he writes. French takes material that could've been very boring and confusing and lays it out in a way that it's easy for someone who has very little familiarity with politics and history of certain countries to understand.
Profile Image for David Sasaki.
244 reviews400 followers
January 21, 2018
Long on my to-read shelf, I finally picked up A Continent for the Taking thanks to a glowing review of all of Howard French’s work by Sisonke Msimang in the Johannesburg Review of Books.

Sisonke endorses French as the only American who has written decently about the continent. So I was curious, what makes his approach to writing as an outsider stand out?

I didn’t come away with the answer. The book starts out with Howard alongside his younger brother as hippie backpackers in search of the famed Dogon Tribe of Eastern Mali whose astrological beliefs were celebrated by the New Age hippies of the 70s. He soon transitions from the hippie son of an American doctor working for the World Health Organization in Abidjan to the New York Times’ correspondent for West and Central Africa.

Throughout the first half of the book nearly all of Africa’s woes are blamed on European colonialism and misinformed American foreign policy.

The question that goes unasked in Western news coverage of Africa, and in most of the other ritualized hand-wringing over the continent’s plight, is why should anyone be surprised that violent European hijacking of Africa’s political development resulted in misery and chaos? How could it be that in America, a country where 12 percent of the population traces its ancestry to African slaves, the vast majority of the population remains totally unaware of this derailment, except by a deliberate and long-term burial of the truth?


Similarly:

In little more than a generation, the Belgian king’s yearning for empire and fortune may have killed ten million people in the territory—half of Congo’s population, or more than the entire death toll in World War I. Even today Japan continues to face international ostracism for its brutal imperial conduct in China, Korea and other parts of Asia in the 1930s, which followed Leopold’s Congo holocaust by a mere two decades. And yet there has never been any remorse in the West over the fallout from Europe’s drive to dominate Africa. Indeed, few have heard these grim facts. In view of the vastly larger scale of Leopold’s atrocities, it is worth asking how he escaped remembrance alongside Hitler and Stalin as great criminals of the twentieth century. If Leopold’s legacy had been millions of deaths alone, the impact of Belgium’s takeover of the Congo would have been horrible enough. But the Belgians also created a tragic example of governance, essentially teaching Zairians that authority confers the power to steal. And the practical corollary to this lesson was that the bigger the title, the bigger the theft.


I’m don’t disagree with this point of view. I think it’s crazy that everyone recognizes Hitler, but few have heard of King Leopold. And there is no explanation other than racism that the US intervened so significantly in Yugoslavia but not in Rwanda. What’s missing from French’s writing, even as he criticizes most reporters’ lack of historical context, is any recognition of African societies before European colonialism. I’m reminded of those ethnic studies majors who spend all their time criticizing the lack of minorities in movies produced by white people but don’t celebrate movies produced by minorities.

At some point near the middle of the book, its mood and focus change. Gone is the portrayal of Africa as flourishing culture of innovation wronged by the greed and brutality of the West. Instead, we’re given an insider’s view to the first-hand reporting of some of the most violent conflicts in Central and Western Africa in the 1990s — most notably in Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (then Zaire). For the most part, French stops pointing fingers at the West and becomes bewildered by the episodic eruptions of violence. Describing Liberia’s instability in the 80s that led to the tragic violence of the 90s, he writes:

A barely literate master sergeant, Doe had disemboweled his predecessor, William Tolbert, in a 1980 coup and summarily executed twelve senior government officials on a Monrovia beach. Thus, as enthusiastic street kids cheered the firing squad, 111 years of Americo-Liberian rule came to an ignominious end. The slayings took place just one year after the Ghanaian military leader, Jerry Rawlings, a young junior air force officer, who had recently seized power, publicly executed three of his predecessors.


French seems more forthcoming during the second half of the book that the violence and conflicts he witnesses are not just the product of arbitrary borders drawn by colonial powers or greedy Western mining companies extracting Africa’s natural resources for their own gain. Much like we in the United States have faced time and time again, Africa too has deep ethnic conflicts that most outsiders don’t even attempt to understand. Sitting in a hotel with dozens of other reporters that flew in to cover Africa’s latest bloodbath — this time in Zaire — French writes:

The scramble to do some rudimentary ethnic detective work brought to mind just how normal it was for reporters to operate in nearly perfect ignorance of their surroundings on this continent. Africa remained terra incognita for most within my profession, whose job it was to inform the world, and for many of us an assignment here involved little more preparation than thumbing through a Lonely Planet guide. Anywhere else in the world we would have been judged incompetent, but in Africa being able to get somewhere quickly and write colorful stories was qualification enough. It was a repeat performance of the same contemptuous glossing over that characterized so much of Europe’s colonial involvement with the continent, and though I had more experience here than most of my peers, I was in no way exempt.


Today Americans are (finally) forced to reckon with our own deep-seated tribalism between race, class, gender and geography, but there’s still a knee-jerk political correctness to not recognize anything that could be construed as tribalism in another country, especially in Africa. At some point we’ll have to finally recognize the tribalism in other countries, much as we’re now forced to recognize our own. And hopefully it will be part of a process of healing. French rarely address the ethnic tensions directly, but you can see it between the lines and ultimately it contributes to his fatigue. By the end of the book, he’s elated to get a posting in Japan and put his days in Africa behind him.

I’m glad I read this book. French has a wonderful personality that shines through his writing more than the majority of books written by journalists, trained as they are to worship the illusion of objectivity. And I learned a lot about West and Central Africa (including both Anglophone and Francophone countries) — the part of the continent I know the least about. I wish I had read it before my trips to Liberia where I stayed at the very hotel from which French does most of his Liberian reporting.

The book was also a reminder of how much progress the region has made over the past decade. Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Burkina Faso: compared to just a decade ago, they are all more developed, democratic, and peaceful. And it’s also a reminder that some things stay the same. French describes how a new generation of “strong men” were propped up in the region by the Albright State Department and most of them are still around today, still giving the head-nod to democracy without embracing democratic institutions: Kagame in Rwanda, Kabila in the DRC, Museveni in Uganda. There is such a thing as progress, it’s just not a straight line.
176 reviews11 followers
September 6, 2012
I found this a difficult book to read, for several reasons. The content was disturbing, and I felt definite moments of shame at the complacency of the West. It is hard not to feel guilty for the role that my own culture has played, both in creating the circumstances for atrocities and ruthless dictatorships, and for doing little to remedy them. I also admired the courage of French and the local people.

My other difficulty was the writing. While French's style is very elegant and engaging, I found it difficult to follow the chronology of his narrative. I had trouble following the unfamiliar names and places, though that is probably my own fault, not the author's. I probably would have gotten more out of this book if I had already been familiar with Africa's geography and history. Nevertheless, the disturbing nature of the events that French recounts is clear.
Profile Image for Dak.
303 reviews13 followers
December 14, 2015
Wow. The drive of journalists like Howard French to explore and document the type of stories in this book amazes me. If you want to learn about the tumult of Africa in the 1990s, this is a great book for it. Well-written in a clear, engaging style, he wraps in his personal thoughts more than a magazine or newspaper article, giving (I think) more depth to the experiences he's having. Can't say I'll be going to the Congo anytime soon after reading this...
Profile Image for Charlie.
14 reviews6 followers
October 24, 2007
Too anecdotal, considering the incredibly self-important title. Interesting stories of his experience as a journalist in Congo and Cote D'Ivoire but he overgeneralizes on what he sees as the problems that constrain African development and backs those points up with specific and sometimes isolated incidents.
4 reviews
August 3, 2011
A great book, but very sobering. This is by far the best I've read in the way of books on Africa. The way French takes you through the never ending nightmare of a content that continues to self destruct both economically and politically, left me wondering if there is any hope for this beautiful continent of my birth.
Profile Image for Chuck A.
29 reviews1 follower
March 29, 2021
This book talks about the modern history of West and Central Africa from a journalists point of view. He speaks about a range of topics from the Rwandan genocide to the Liberian civil war. Easy to follow and understand. Recommend to people who are interested in Central and West Africa.
Profile Image for Grant.
1,318 reviews5 followers
April 23, 2021
A journalistic account of the author's travels and investigations in West and Central Africa. Overall, French judges American and French policies in the region harshly, justifiably so. He also seeks to balance accounts of the Rwandan genocide by examining the subsequent Rwandan invasions of Zaire (Congo).
670 reviews7 followers
February 26, 2022
I really enjoyed this book and have awakened my deep interest in African History. It's feels distinctly different than when reading European history. It's more chaotic and has such stark changes all of a sudden that change the rulers or ruling style of the region. Most importantly, African history is extremely dark and violent which is fascinating to me in a sick way. I am honestly surprised on how critical the Author, Howard W. French was of Africa. Based on the premise of the book about the terrible influence of Europe on Africa, I feared that the author was going to take a deeply defensive perspective on Africa and paint it out to be a fantastic land that every problem stems from Europe. That was not the case. Howard was really critical of a lot of Africa in many ways. Obviously he was critical about it's modern politics but also in a the disorganization and simply acknowledging the natural dangers and disease, the violence and the poverty which manifests itself in various ways. The author Howard, as a journalists that has been to Africa many times offers a detailed and vivid account of his times there. The book is partly a history and also partly a account of particular trips to Africa that he has made. Unfortunately I did think that the book did not have much of a chronological order which made the confusing politics of Africa even harder to grasp. I'm unsure whether this is due to the shorter format that he is used to as a journalist. I also found that for a person that knows nothing of politics in Africa, it's extremely difficult to keep up at the pace that Howard described all the different foreign figures. Sometimes it just ends up being a jumble of names seemingly doing revolution and also not following through with it all at the same time. Besides that, I really look forward to read way more about African culture and history.
Back to the main theme of the book, Africa hasn't just decayed and the civilizations there haven't just vanished over time. They have been purposely destroyed. The European influence over Africa is much longer lasting than we know and also much deeper and destructive than I think the general public imagens. This is largely due to the rest of of the world not being very well educated on the topic. It goes beyond murder, war and slavery. The introduction of the book really shows how the vary social fabric of African culture was deeply tainted and distorted even up to the modern age. The slave trade broke families apart and had a massive influx of immigrants coming to Africa which dissolved the social hierarchy of African tribes, the values changed and pitted a lot of the groups against each other. 20 generations where destroyed and the slave traders ruled supreme at the top of the food chain. Only those that tried to assimilate with these new values are the one that got the least bad deal. That's a big focus of the book and what did the African people have to give up. A shocking statistic is had the slave trade not happened, then Africa is estimated to have had the population of 70 million people by 1850 which is roughly 40% higher than reality.
A side note, I deeply dislike and feel really uncomfortable when referring to the many and vast peoples of Africa under one single term of people of Africa or Africans. Seems partially racist and dismissive of such wide diversity. Generally I like referring to the people of the specific country that they are in but even the concepts of countries that were marked on maps by Europeans is something that doesn't really represent accurately the African tribes.
The book mainly focuses on 4 countries in Africa. Mali, Liberia, Nigeria and Zaire. Rwanda and the Republic of the Congo are also mentioned in a chapter or 2 but Zaire or the modern day Democratic republic of the Congo is the country that most of the book is actually about.
The chapter about Nigeria demonstrated one of the richest and most powerful counties in the continent with a multitude of peoples and most importantly, great business potential, still battles with a deep political problems that stem from the military dictatorships. The dictator in the mid to late nineties, Sani Abacha, had already been part of all the major coupes leading up to that and was now the last evolution of the kind of alpha. No smiles, no explanations and no mercy which demonstrates the ruthless regime that acted on its own and had no consideration for the public opinion.
These figures develop a sort of mythical status over the years among the people which comes from their ruthlessness, not appearing in the daylight and wearing large sunglasses everywhere. As he accounts his story of even arriving in the airport, you get a sense of the dog eat dog world that Nigeria in which the weak, naïve and scared are constantly prayed upon. The perfect example of this was of the taxi driver standing up to armed guards. The Nigerian leadership manages to get away with this regime with no problems because they are so rich in oil which they sell to the US. This chapter showed the hypocrisy of the Us foreign policy and that they were doubly hypocritical in the nineties after the disaster of black hawk down. These systems of politics don't fit in these countries of multiple ethnical groups. The chapter finishes on a shocking opinion that the best quality about Nigeria is that it does have a bright future in the horizon. And that's where the bright future remains, in the horizon and not in the harsh, corrupt present.
The next chapter is about a topic which I've read entire books on, the Ebola crisis in central Africa. It's just a sad and terrible account of people that really lack the education and any sort of equipment to deal with this rampant epidemic. The bulk of the book as I said was about the split countries of the the Congo and it's long time dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko that ruled for decades from the 60s all the way to the late 90s. This other legendary figure with the craved cane, the African style suit and the signature leopard skin hat was the head of Zaire after stopping any political elections and getting rid of his predecessor in an unfair trial. The Congo has had a dark history since it's colonial days where the evil Belgian King, King Leopold the second managed to gain that huge amount of land in this foreign land and enslave millions and make riches for himself. It's quite bizarre how he doesn't make it on the list alongside Hitler and Stalin as he didn't rule too long before they did. The death toll is absolutely astounding and he sets a president that the bigger the power, the bigger the booty in whatever you are stealing. And this philosophy carries through to Mobutu and Howard acknowledges that Mobutu era isn't actually much different to Leopold's despite the talking points to restore African culture. The complexities of the book start here with the extremely chaotic and tumultuous politics of the split of the Congo into two countries and then the imminent change of power decades later with the old dictator. The Soviet Union and the French have a hand in the neighbouring Republic of the Congo and their finances and the switch of power back in the hands of the people also lead to many problems. As mentioned in the Poisonwood bible, the people were not ready for the change and didn't have the structure to deal with it and thereby a feeling of "Now its Our turn!" overcame them and endless fighting among "political parties" ensued and civil war raged on for years with brutal consequences. A line I liked was that Great catastrophes and great strides forward can happen in small countries in Africa.
The next chapter is about the influx of refugees into Zaire from the Rwanda genocide and the suspicious attacks on the camps. One of the worst massacred in the twentieth century which had up to 8000 people murdered per day with machetes. The criticism in this was that America and many others did not use the term genocide during this time in 1994 in order to not commit themselves to the crisis and have to assist in a place where they have no stake in, like oil rich countries or Europe. Further than that, things get even more complicated as the US might have a hand in these attacks. There is a complex geopolitical struggle happening in the area that is precisely times with the dying leader of Zaire. This confusion is just on my part though as Howard mentions a deeply honest criticism of journalism in Africa even by his party that the research done before reporting is often not further than leaving through the lonely planet as opposed to political literature. Getting to places quickly and writing colorful stories is a far more valued skill to have as a journalist in Africa. A take away concept was that there are no good guys in Rwanda genocide or the Congo government and the duality if western journalism is too slow to catch up on that in the late 90s.
In his travels through Africa, Howard describes very well the feeling of being there. One very specific one was being forced to go with the flow as the organised and predictable structure of daily living from the West is not applicable there, to the great irritation of foreign journalists. In a chaotic and dangerous environment, a go with the flow approach can lead to deeds that can seem crazy, especially to a westerner. A example in this book was an author Howard was looking for and eventually found in a distant village in a semi delirious state after going on a spiritual journey to cure his wife of a terrible disease. Likely Malaria. Another dark part of the book is the dangerous diamond trade in Africa in which Europe takes all the benefits at the end. The diamond trade ends up being a metaphorical flame in which the moths fly into their death. Young African men are enticed by the rags to riches story which far too often leads them to their death. Unfortunately European markets are the ones to gain the profits from the revenue in African goods such as Ivory, chocolate and diamonds.
The chapter about Liberia shows how Liberia is possibly the absolute worst country on earth and that is a hell of a statement. It might go as far as to be worse than North Korea possibly because of it's insignificance on a global stage and the level of brutality and chaos that has raged through there. The civil wars or genocides in the country have no real distinguished sides or rationale behind them. The major figure involved in them is the former president Charles Taylor. Howard is particularly critical of this ego maniac because of his use of child soldiers in the power struggle. That's morally wrong on so many levels that it is hard to even unravel and to really put yourself in their shoes as it's ferociously evil. Taylor is a particularly scary and dangerous figure that is not afraid of tearing the country apart and has a history in American prisons and a hand in uprisings in neighbouring countries. At some point I just give up to try and keep up with the different coupes and assassinations and even snuff videos. The killing has even reached a point where there are few men and even boys in some places in the country as they are dead or soldiers. Taylor at the time had a bizarre overpowering presence in the country as his voice would often be heard blaring in loudspeakers preaching his political and semi religious rhetoric while at the same time living a life of luxury with multiple cars in stark contrast to rest of the country.
On the Brightside, Howard also describes the beauty and traditional culture of Africa. Firstly there is a part in the Nigeria chapter about the legendary African musician Fela Kuti and his almost cult like following and the cult like Rock n roll lifestyle he lead, which unfortunately lead to his death of aids. The relevance of him in the book was that he was a popular figure in Africa that was extremely outspoken of his political opinion, even in the 80s. Later Howard talks about the multiple languages that change from village to village, the loose structure or use of grammar in a lot of African countries and sexualized dancing and partying reminiscent of Latin cultures too.
I wish the book would have finished on the positive chapter on Mali. An extremely poor country that without the intervention of other countries, has managed to have legitimate democratic elections. This is ultimately the main goal for these countries to get themselves out of this loop of corruption and if a country as poor as Mali, can do it, then it is a hopeful sign for the other countries. Not having landslide victories is a sign of no major interference from foreign power and fair elections. Also establishing their own cultures and values is extremely important to maintain a healthy environment and society that functions well and Mali has also achieved this. The people of Mali have had multiple foreign countries invade and pass through and yet there are pockets of people in the country that have still managed to preserve their values and traditions. One great factor that might have helped greatly to strengthen the unity in these cultures and different people is a universal Islamic religion.
Profile Image for Emerson Grossmith.
44 reviews3 followers
January 19, 2018
I wrote this back in 2004 when the book first came out. I bought it in Nairobi.

The new book 'Africa The Shackled Continent' by Howard Guest, the former editor of African Affairs in the Economist who got a real hammering last month in the New African Magazine. You should read about Bafour Ankomah (the Editor of New African) in it - ok he is controversial, but Guest hammers him in his book for being "too pro-Mugabe."

How could a West African, Bafour, be "pro-Mugabe"--beggars the imagination, but I guess Bafour has none.

Initially, I thought the editor Bafour himself was the one who was shackled, but on reading the article, I think it is Guest who is shackled to some form of 'colonialism' more like 'post-colonial syndrome'. Guest claims in the book—"Does Africa have some inherent character flaw that keeps it backward and incapable of development" –yes, it does it's called 'politicians and dictators'.

Another claim Guest makes is "that Africa societies are unable to sustain viable states"—this is utter crap! I thought this pillock Guest lived in Africa for three years and was a supposed graduate of Oxford? In all the time he was at Oxford or in his time spent covering Africa did he not think to pick up a book about African history (like Basil Davidson). If he did, he would have known that Nigeria, Benin, Mali, Morocco, Uganda, Zimbabwe all had some form of 'viable states' long before their corruption by 'western' educated sorts of pre-independent Africa who tried to institute "one party democracies", "harambee crap socialism" and other western fallacies.

Furthermore, Guest should read one of Prof. George Ayittey's book. Speaking of Mugabe—where the hell does a Jesuit-educated Marxist get off setting up a "one-party democracy", fully embracing the 'western dogs' who propped up his Marxist economy initially and then kicking them out. Just recently in the Guardian, the 'former Zimbabwean warriors' who had taken over the 'western dogs' estates in the land push were now being kicked out by Mugabe's cronies—what goes around comes around I guess!
Profile Image for Mylissa.
189 reviews13 followers
February 3, 2014
This book is not about the entire continent of Africa, or at least not explicitly about the entire continent, French implies there are a lot of similar themes throughout Africa. It is more about central Africa, and most specifically it's about the DRC, formally known as Zaire. While it covers a few things, the main subject is the end of DRC's time as Zaire and the forces that were behind that. It mostly gets into other countries because of how they contributed to that- Rwanda Tutsi forces were the army power behind Kabila's takeover and replacement of Mobutu, or to highlight the extreme changes over the course of several years. When he first arrived, there was television and phone service, as he is leaving Africa for a new, more peaceful place to report on, there is neither of those things.

It also talks a lot about how America is complicit in what was happening in Africa, while denying it, or putting a bunch of spin on it to make it sound more positive then it really was. While there is an autobiographical element to the book, French does a good job of being fairly neutral in these matters. While the US undoubtably should take more responsibility for their failings in Africa, he explains why the US often fails, mostly because it does not understand the African tribes, and also because it places importance on the wrong things sometimes. It would very likely require a huge international effort, and the blame cannot be put on any one country.

Up until now I felt very uninformed about Africa's history but this is only a drop in the bucket. A well written one, but there is much more for me to learn.
Profile Image for Sonja.
329 reviews35 followers
April 6, 2020
4.5 stars. I'm embarrassed to only be reading this for the first time in 2020 because it would have been much more seminal for me to have read it when it was first published. As a result, it now feels a bit dated, and is really best suited as a primer on African history and politics for those unfamiliar with it. Since I've spent the last 15+ years studying and working in and on Africa, notwithstanding my personal connection, much of what French recounts here was not new to me, but it was nonetheless fascinating to get a behind the scenes view of his life as a foreign correspondent on the continent, and it satisfied my general interest in political intrigue. What French also does brilliantly here is capture the ingenuity of Africa/ns, and the vastness, beauty, and complexity of the continent, as well as the daily indignities, though some of those do now seem like relics from the bygone era of the 90s. The last three chapters—on Mobutu's fall, Kabila's rise, and the puppet masters behind it all, including the Clinton administration—were especially compelling, and really the strongest elements of the book; which is why the title of the book is a bit misleading, given that what French focuses on here is really West and Central Africa, and DRC in particular, the externally-orchestrated unraveling of which in the late 90s/early 00s (I think) has never been appropriately globally acknowledged.

This is, in the end, an infuriating book which, though a bit dated, is still incredibly relevant for those that love Africa.
Profile Image for Reanne Wong.
32 reviews1 follower
May 6, 2017
If you know very little about the past 20 years of African politics, this is a great primer. It is told from the perspective of an African-American male who is a New York Times reporter, speaks fluent French, and is married to a Malian woman. In other words, he is an educated outsider who can assimilate just well enough to get the truth out of traditionally tight-lipped people.

Admittedly, I found the jumping timelines and locations to be confusing, but for me this book was more useful as an introduction to the general "current climate" of Africa (mostly the Congo/DRC/Zaire).

The only issue I had was French's obvious disdain for the way "The West" handled the political and humanitarian crises plaguing Africa. While I understand that European colonization and American disinterest were major factors in the creation of/lack of resolution of many of the problems portrayed in this book, I also feel French fails to recognize that maybe politicians and world leaders did not have the time or know-how to successful intervene.

Regardless, almost all accounts in this book are either first hand or twice-confirmed by primary sources, so it is easy to filter out opinion from fact. As expected from a Times reporter, I suppose.

Definitely worth a read if you've ever looked at a map of Africa and went, 'how do I even begin to wrap my head around this?'
Profile Image for Joseph.
178 reviews1 follower
August 1, 2019
Howard French was there on the ground as a reporter in one the world's bloodiest conflict since the Second World War. The civil war in the Congo is not yet over, but his book is a great piece of African reporting (As a journalist in 2013, I embedded with the M23 rebellion in the Eastern Congo where many rebels felt there conflict was linked to that one).

The book largely focuses on West Africa and Central Africa provides some interesting sketches on Liberia and Nigeria in the early 1990s. His reporting and views on the civil war and communism in the Congo-Brazzaville is noteworthy as the country is ignored in the Anglophone world (unless your in the oil business). The author's fluent French certainly helped his reporting and the book both rejects and at times pays homage to the Heart of Darkness style reporting on the continent that it so popular in the New York Times and other publications. He spends much ink describing logistics ( pot-holed trips and dilapidated hotels ) personally I would of preferred that ink be spent on character sketches.
Profile Image for Fatman.
126 reviews74 followers
January 30, 2019
Many excellent books have been written on the poisonous legacy of colonialism in Africa and the concentrated efforts of fallen colonial powers to undermine democracy and foment conflict in their former holdings, with the ultimate goal of continued exploitation. What makes Howard French's book stand out from the rest is the compelling personal narrative weaved around historical data. Every African tragedy portrayed within is told through the eyes of French as its direct observer. With great skill and in a few poignant brushstrokes, the author evokes real people caught up in the whirlwind of history, not mere fodder for the atrocity machine. If there is one complaint I have about A Continent for the Taking: The Tragedy and Hope of Africa, it's that it ends rather abruptly, before really getting into the "hope" part of the title.
Profile Image for J..
50 reviews
August 11, 2010
An excellent first-person account of 1990s sub-Saharan African politics, this book is filled with insight both passionate and enlightening from Howard French, the NY Times Africa bureau chief from that period. His exploration of the Congolese Wars and their relationship with the Rwandan genocide is the most profound part of the book, although he discusses nearly everything of significance from this period. Keep in mind once again, however, that his scope is limited to those parts of Africa he personally explored. Events throughout Egypt, South Africa, Libya, and Somalia, for example, are mentioned but not explained in detail. His political commentary might bother some readers; I found it refreshing and contributory to the overall narrative.
13 reviews
August 31, 2013
Despite the horror and devastation described in this book, French always finds cause for hope in democracy movements and brave outspoken individuals. His insights into power dynamics, politics and ethnic divisions help make (a little bit more) sense of the unfolding tragedies. I did take away a new awareness of how much a journalists understanding of a situation depends on their personal experience. Gourevitch could never get past the horror of the Rwandan genocide and therefore overlooked the ensuing Tutsi brutality. French saw the horror of Tingi Tingi and Umbankanda and could not get past Hutus as victims. Nonetheless, he helps add nuance to the good guy/ bad guy dichotomy we are usually faced with.
Profile Image for Melani.
115 reviews
November 18, 2008
With the Congo being in the news again, I am so glad I read this book. Not only was it highly readable -- but now I feel like I have a way better understanding of what is happening in some parts of Africa. He is not offering a lot of solutions -- and in Africa history does have a way of repeating itself -- so the book does start to feel a little bit like "did I already read this part?" by the end -- but I reccommend it to anyone looking to get the basics of the African issues we often hear about in the headlines.
Profile Image for Kathleen McRae.
1,627 reviews7 followers
April 19, 2012
this book goes into great detail about Africa's struggle for democracy.the author spent some years in various countries in Africa covering conflicts and as it happens events.it was very interesting but hard to follow at times because the story not only jumped country to country but timeline to timeline.And in the end it is a story of such overwhelming greed not only by Africans but also by the many countries that ' colonized on that continent ' but also by the world institutions today that will go down in history as predators.
14 reviews
February 4, 2013
I found this book to be extremely informative about modern-day African history post colonialism to someone knowing little about African politics. What was eye-opening is that the political borders those created by the former European colonists with little regard to the different ethnic/religious/tribal groups occupying these artificially created nations. I am troubled that news from and about Africa faces limited coverage by traditional US media outlets-especially the catastrophes in Zaire/the Congo.
Profile Image for Lew Serviss.
Author 1 book1 follower
August 18, 2016
Two great books in one: A ground-level look at African politics and culture of the 1990s and '00s and a fascinating view of the life of a world-class foreign correspondent. Howard French was there when the Mobutu corruption machine ground to a stop and when Laurent Kabila was launched out of Rwanda. A great historical document but a riveting personal story as well. If you have any interesting at all in Africa or wondered just how one covers war and catastrophe in one of the most unforgiving settings on earth, then you need to read "A Continent for the Taking."
88 reviews3 followers
August 4, 2013
The content was great - the problems of Africa, as deep rooted as they are and frustrating and discouraging as they can be, tend to be something we (in the "Western World") tend to look away from. Not that we ignore them, but I think we tend to close our eyes and try not to think about them. French gives a compelling first-hand account from the ground, and while discouraging and frustrating I think it is an important book for anyone to read.

French's writing style is not always easy to follow, but all-in-all it is a well-written book.
Profile Image for Austin.
268 reviews11 followers
August 1, 2018
If you’re interested in post-apocalyptic fiction, give Howard French's A Continent for the Taking: The Tragedy and Hope of Africa. Mr. French chronicles Africa's descent into chaos just how I can envision it going in western countries in a collapse/survival situation. This brief glimpse into some of the tragic realities affecting the Dark Continent allow us to appreciate how fragile our institutions of stability are. From Warlordism to Ebola and Genocide, Africa at the end of the twentieth century is truly a place where The Shit Hit the Fan (SHTF).
Profile Image for Penny.
233 reviews
November 13, 2013
I was disappointed in this book. I was hoping for more historical perspective, and perhaps more hope for the future. Instead we get several years of colonial occupation in one chapter, and then the rest of the book is essentially a who's who of despots, coups, tribal warfare and genocide focused on the 90s. This is the tragedy, but where is the hope? What few political successes in post colonial Africa there are barely touched on, and as for hope for the future? I didn't find in here.
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