PublicHealthInnit reviewed Africa by Richard Dowden
Review of 'Africa' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
This is a book full of interesting gems but also fluff and waffle. I'm glad I made my way through it to enjoy the gems, but wish I'd skipped past sections which drifted on. Dowden himself acknowledges that much discussion of Africa descends into ascribing qualities to all Africans despite the continent's massive size. However, he still manages to drift into these generalisms and these are the weakest parts of the book. Furthermore, the style often leaves much to be desired as what start as coherent narratives seems to wander into stream of consciousness ramblings. This ended up leaving me frustrated at times as I wanted to learn more on the initial narrative.
However, where the discussion lies in specific countries and particular stories, the book is at its strongest. Dowden clearly does have a lot of experience in some of these states and it shows in his lucid discussions …
This is a book full of interesting gems but also fluff and waffle. I'm glad I made my way through it to enjoy the gems, but wish I'd skipped past sections which drifted on. Dowden himself acknowledges that much discussion of Africa descends into ascribing qualities to all Africans despite the continent's massive size. However, he still manages to drift into these generalisms and these are the weakest parts of the book. Furthermore, the style often leaves much to be desired as what start as coherent narratives seems to wander into stream of consciousness ramblings. This ended up leaving me frustrated at times as I wanted to learn more on the initial narrative.
However, where the discussion lies in specific countries and particular stories, the book is at its strongest. Dowden clearly does have a lot of experience in some of these states and it shows in his lucid discussions of the issues affecting lives in those areas. It is for these stories that the book is worth reading.