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The charming real-life fairy tale of an American secretary who discovers she has been chosen king of an impoverished fishing village on the west coast of Africa. King Peggy has the sweetness and quirkiness of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series and the hopeful sense of possibility of Half the Sky. King Peggy chronicles the astonishing journey of an American secretary who suddenly finds herself king to a town of 7,000 souls on Ghana's central coast, half a world away. Upon arriving for her crowning ceremony in beautiful Otuam, she discovers the dire reality: there's no running water, no doctor, and no high school, and many of the village elders are stealing the town's funds. To make matters worse, her uncle (the late king) sits in a morgue awaiting a proper funeral in the royal palace, which is in ruins. The longer she waits to bury him, the more she risks incurring the wrath of her ancestors. Peggy's first two years as king of Otuam unfold in a way that is stranger than fiction. In the end, a deeply traditional African town has been uplifted by the ambitions of its headstrong, decidedly modern female king. And in changing Otuam, Peggy is herself transformed, from an ordinary secretary to the heart and hope of her community.
Eleanor Herman, Peggielene Bartels (Author), Eleanor Herman, J. Karen Thomas (Narrator)
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We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families
In 1994, when the Rwanda government called on everyone in the Hutu majority to kill everyone in the Tutsi minority, 800,000 Tutsis were murdered. This haunting work is an anatomy of the killings and a vivid history of the genocide's background and aftermath.
Philip Gourevitch (Author), David Hilder (Narrator)
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Nobel Laureate and founder of the Green Belt Movement, Wangari Maathai has campaigned for environmental activism in Africa for more than three decades. In The Challenge for Africa, Maathai delivers an insightful call to action, presenting a realistic look at the diverse problems facing Africans. Maathai's ability to dissect cultural problems and pose solutions individuals can follow has made her one of the most respected women in Africa today.
Wangari Maathai (Author), Chinasa Ogbuagu (Narrator)
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Inspired by the award-winning film of the same name. If you were told that a murderer was to be released into your neighborhood, how would you feel? But what if it weren't only one, but thousands? Could there be a common roadmap to reconciliation? Could there be a shared future after unthinkable evil? If forgiveness is possible after the slaughter of nearly a million in a hundred days in Rwanda, then today, more than ever, we owe it to humanity to explore how one country is addressing perceptual, social-psychological, and spiritual dimensions to achieve a more lasting peace. If forgiveness is possible after genocide, then perhaps there is hope for the comparably smaller rifts that plague our relationships, our communities, and our nation. Based on personal interviews and thorough research, As We Forgive returns to the boundary lines of genocide's wounds and traces the route of reconciliation in the lives of Rwandans---victims, widows, orphans, and perpetrators---whose past and future intersect. We find in these stories how suffering, memory, and identity set up roadblocks to forgiveness, while mediation, truth-telling, restitution, and interdependence create bridges to healing. As We Forgive explores the pain, the mystery, and the hope through seven compelling stories of those who have made this journey toward reconciliation. The result is a narrative that breathes with humanity and is as haunting as it is hopeful.
Bahni Turnpin, Catherine Claire Larson (Author), Bahni Turnpin, Bahni Turpin, Catherine Claire Larson (Narrator)
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American Warlord: A True Story
A gripping work of reportage that, for the first time, tells the story of "Chucky" Taylor, a young American who lost his soul in Liberia, the country where his African father was a ruthless warlord and dictator. Chucky Taylor was in many ways an average American kid: growing up in Florida he had friends, a high school sweetheart, and some brushes with the law. But then, in 1992, at age fifteen, he traveled to Liberia to meet his estranged father, Charles Taylor--the warlord and future president of Liberia. Adrift in a strange, underdeveloped country, Chucky became the commander of the infamous Anti-Terrorist Unit, aka "Demon Forces." Suddenly powerful amidst the lawlessness of his father's rule, any semblance of morality vanished: the savagery and pointlessness of his crimes shocked even his brutal father. Fleeing Liberia as his father's government fell, Chucky was caught sneaking into the United States and became the first American convicted of the war crime of torture. Now, Johnny Dwyer's deeply researched book tells not just the riveting story of Chucky Taylor and his family, but also of Liberia, a nation which only recently has found reason to hope for the future.
Johnny Dwyer (Author), Peter Jay Fernandez (Narrator)
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South Africa and the British Empire: The History and Legacy of the Region Under Great Britain's Cont
"The Boers were hostile toward indigenous African peoples, with whom they fought frequent range wars, and toward the government of the Cape, which was attempting to control Boer movements and commerce. They overtly compared their way of life to that of the Israel patriarchs of the Bible, developing independent patriarchal communities based upon a mobile pastoralist economy. Staunch Calvinists, they saw themselves as the children of God in the wilderness, a Christian elect divinely ordained to rule the land and the backward natives therein. By the end of the 18th century the cultural links between the Boers and their urban counterparts were diminishing, although both groups continued to speak a type of Flemish." - Encyclopaedia Britannica The Boer War was the defining conflict of South African history and one of the most important conflicts in the history of the British Empire. Naturally, complicated geopolitics underscored it, going back centuries. In fact, the European history of South Africa began with the 1652 arrival of a small Dutch flotilla in Table Bay, at the southern extremity of the African continent, which made landfall with a view to establishing a victualing station to service passing Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie) ships. The Dutch at that point largely dominated the East Indian Trade, and it was their establishment of the settlement of Kaapstad, or Cape Town, that set in motion the lengthy and often turbulent history of South Africa. For over a century, the Cape remained a Dutch East India Company settlement, and in the interests of limiting expenses, strict parameters were established to avoid the development of a colony. As religious intolerance in Europe drove a steady trickle of outward emigration, however, Dutch settlers began to informally expand beyond the Cape, settling the sparsely inhabited hinterland to the north and east of Cape Town. In doing so, they fell increasingly outside the administrative scope of the Company, and they developed an individualistic worldview, characterized by self-dependence and self-reliance. They were also bonded as a society by a rigorous and literal interpretation of the Old Testament. In their wake, towards the end of the 17th century, followed a wave of French Huguenot immigrants, fleeing a renewal of anti-Protestantism in Europe. They were integrated over the succeeding generations, creating a hybridized language and culture that emerged in due course as the Cape Dutch, The Afrikaner or the Boer. The Napoleonic Wars radically altered the old, established European power dynamics, and in 1795, the British, now emerging as the globe's naval superpower, assumed control of the Cape as part of the spoils of war. In doing so, they recognized the enormous strategic value of the Cape as global shipping routes were developing and expanding. Possession passed back and forth once or twice, but more or less from that point onwards, the British established their presence at the Cape, which they held until the unification of South Africa in 1910. However, it would only come after several rounds of conflicts, and South Africa would remain a dominion through history's deadliest wars in the first half of the 20th century. South Africa and the British Empire: The History of the Region as a Colony and Dominion looks at the controversial British colonization, fighting, and results. Along with pictures and a bibliography, you will learn about the British control of South Africa like never before.
Charles River Editors (Author), Colin Fluxman (Narrator)
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Mansa Musa and and Timbuktu: The History of the West African Emperor and Medieval Africa's Most Fabl
Recent research has revealed that the richest person of all time lived in the 14th century in West Africa and went by many names, including Kankan Musa Keita, Emir of Melle, Lord of the Mines of Wangara, Conqueror of Ghanata and the Lion of Mali II, but today he is usually referred to as Mansa Musa. Adjusting his wealth to modern values, he was worth about an estimated $400 billion as the Sultan of ancient Mali, which controlled the trade routes across the Sahara Desert. About 6,000 years ago, the ancient Sahara was a tropical jungle with lush grasslands and substantial rivers until it moved north of the Equator as a result of tectonic plate movements. The seismic activity changed the location of land and the composition of the atmosphere. The African Humid Period seems to have ended relatively quickly, taking a couple of thousand years before being replaced by a much drier climate, and this started a process of desertification that forced many animals and human inhabitants to the outer edges of the immense desert. There would have been passages through the area that vanished as the harsh climate inexorably clawed at the mountains and hills, turning them into the sand that obliterated all traces of their ever having been there. By about 600 BCE, the terrain and habitat had become much less hospitable, so much so that it was no longer possible to use horses and oxen to carry commodities. As a result, trading became difficult and sporadic and slowly disappeared. This all changed when camels were introduced to the Sahara, initially via Roman invaders and then with the Berber traders from Arabia moving across North Africa in search of gold and salt. As they reached the southern Sahel, they encountered the old established trading system and routes of the Garamantes, the people who handled the trade in and out of the Sahara from West Africa. The combination of the use of camels with the already re-established West African trade routes brought about rapid economic progress that resulted in the area supplying more than half the world's gold for more than 1,000 years, beginning around 400 CE. Of course, this timing coincided with the rise of global trade routes such as the Silk Road and the beginning of Europe's Age of Discovery. By the 12th century, it was believed that far to the east, beyond the lands controlled by the Muslim armies, lived a powerful Christian king named Prester John in the land of India. While he was a king, he was also a priest ("Prester" means Priest and was supposedly the only title he took). His kingdom was believed to be grand and contained many wonders. Marco Polo looked for Prester John, and the Crusaders wanted to reach out to Prester John. Portugal's Henry the Navigator sent his ships out with explicit instructions of what they should do if they met Prester John, and on his historic voyages, Columbus carried two books, The Travels of Marco Polo and The Travels of Sir John Mandeville, both of which have long passages on Prester John. The belief in the existence of fabled African kingdoms and kings ensured that real African kings were also shrouded in lore, and few would become as legendary as Mansa Musa. Mansa Mansa Musa and Timbuktu: The History of the West African Emperor and Medieval Africa's Most Fabled City looks at one of the most famous rulers of the Middle Ages and the development of the city. Along with pictures and a bibliography, you will learn about Mansa Musa and Timbuktu like never before.
Charles River Editors (Author), Dan Gallagher (Narrator)
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Liberia & the Quest for Freedom: The Half That’s Never Been Told
Africa’s past and present are deeply influence by the capture and selling of millions of its people over several centuries. To a greater extent, that is true for Liberia, a country to which blacks from the Americas returned. Like Liberia’s recent civil war, the trans-Atlantic slave trade inflicted pains, traumas and losses that cannot be ignored out of existence. Driven beneath the surface, they corrode our conscience and erode our humanity. By pretending they did not happen, we destroy our ability to tell right from wrong, victims from villains. Echoes of the slavery era can be heard in the derogatory names we call each other like “Gio,” “Belle,” and “ex-slaves.” Liberians living today are called upon to build peace by doing away with relations of great inequality. They have no better examples than the first generation of Liberians, both repatriates and indigenous, who worked together to do just that.
C. Patrick Burrowes (Author), C. Patrick Burrowes (Narrator)
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The Lalibela Churches: The History and Legacy of the Medieval Cave Churches in Ethiopia
"I weary of writing more about these buildings, because it seems to me that I shall not be believed if I write more...I swear by God, in Whose power I am, that all I have written is the truth." - Francisco Álvares In the Lasta Mountains of northern Ethiopia, high on an arid plateau in the foothills, the settlement of Lalibela slumbered for centuries as little more than a pilgrimage site at the end of a long and weary footpath. The ancient trade routes between the Eritrean coast and the central highland redoubts that would later coalesce as the imperial capital of Addis Ababa passed fifty miles to the east of Lalibela, and from the early thirteenth century, after the passing of Gebre Mesqel Lalibela himself, the site slipped into decline. The focus of imperial government shifted south, under the influence of successive emperors, as the holy sites of Roha faded from the popular consciousness. Only the occasional band of pilgrims made the journey over the rugged mountain passes, and across the waterless high valleys to repose at the mythical site, now known only to a handful of faithful acolytes. The site first came to European attention when it was visited in the early 16th century by the Portuguese explorer Pêro da Covilhã, who struck inland from Zeila on the Somali coast in a quest for the legendary Kingdom of Prester John. He was received by the Emperor Eskender, but he was effectively held a prisoner in Ethiopia for 30 years. During that time, he visited and briefly recorded his impressions of Lalibela. By the dawn of the 17th century, Portuguese influence in Africa fell into decline, and the occasions of European contact with Ethiopia became very few and far between. It would be another three centuries before another European would venture into the holy precincts of Lalibela as part of a British military expedition mounted in 1867.
Charles River Editors (Author), Tracey Norman (Narrator)
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Democracy and Delusion: 10 Myths in South African Politics
South African politics is riddled with delusions. Many common political arguments come pre-packaged in an old and dusty box - but the self-evident truths are not, in fact, so indisputable. Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh sets out to dismantle that box. He argues that free education is far from impossible, the ANC's liberation narrative is too idyllic to swallow, land reform is not the first step to chaos, and the media is not free... In this incisive, informed book we find not only challenges to commonly held opinions, but optimism about South Africa's future, and solutions to old problems. A fresh perspective on South African politics.
Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh (Author), Hangwi Lephatsi (Narrator)
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How Can Man Die Better: The Secrets of Isandlwana Revealed
On January 22, 1879, a massive Zulu host attacked the British Army's 24th Regiment in its encampment at the foot of the mountain of Isandlwana. It was the first major encounter in the Anglo-Zulu War and a disastrous defeat for the colonial power. Later that afternoon the victorious Zulus would strike the tiny British garrison at Rorke's Drift. How Can Man Die Better is a unique analysis of the Battle of Isandlwana, covering the weapons, tactics, terrain, and the intriguing characters who made key military decisions. While much is still unknown about the battle, this work eschews the commonly held perception that the British collapse was sudden and that the 24th Regiment was quickly overwhelmed. Rather, historian Mike Snook argues that there was a protracted and heroic defense against a determined and equally heroic foe. A British Army colonel who served in South Africa, Snook reconstructs the final phase of the battle in a way that has never been attempted before.
Lieutenant Colonel Mike Snook (Author), Dennis Kleinman (Narrator)
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My Fourth Time, We Drowned: Seeking Refuge on the World’s Deadliest Migration Route
‘The most important work of contemporary reporting I have ever read’ SALLY ROONEY ‘Journalism of the most urgent kind’ FINANCIAL TIMES The Western world has turned its back on refugees, fuelling one of the most devastating human rights disasters in history. In August 2018, Sally Hayden received a Facebook message. ‘Hi sister Sally, we need your help,’ it read. ‘We are under bad condition in Libya prison. If you have time, I will tell you all the story.’ More messages followed from more refugees. They told stories of enslavement and trafficking, torture and murder, tuberculosis and sexual abuse. And they revealed something else: that they were all incarcerated as a direct result of European policy. From there began a staggering investigation into the migrant crisis across North Africa. This book follows the shocking experiences of refugees seeking sanctuary, but it also surveys the bigger picture: the negligence of NGOs and corruption within the United Nations. The economics of the twenty-first-century slave trade and the EU’s bankrolling of Libyan militias. The trials of people smugglers, the frustrations of aid workers, the loopholes refugees seek out and the role of social media in crowdfunding ransoms. Who was accountable for the abuse? Where were the people finding solutions? Why wasn’t it being widely reported? At its heart, this is a book about people who have made unimaginable choices, risking everything to survive in a system that wants them to be silent and disappear. MORE PRAISE ‘Compassionate, brave, enraging, beautifully written and incredibly well researched. Hayden exposes the truth’ OLIVER BULLOUGH ‘Blistering’ LINDSEY HILSUM ‘The most riveting, detailed and damning account’ CHRISTINA LAMB ‘One of the most important testaments of this awful time in life's history. It is both heartbreaking and stoic. I cry reading any page of it’ EDNA O’BRIEN
Sally Hayden (Author), Aoife Mcmahon (Narrator)
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