Africa Since Eighteen Hundred

Africa Since 1800 (5th edition) details Africa since the 1800s as the title states. First the book starts off with historical and religious differences between the different African countries. Then it goes into Europe's colonization of Africa, and the various wars fought and the minerals and resources in each country. Afterwards the road to independence and life after colonization. Because of colonization and the lack of educational institutions in Africa, the different countries lack behind the rest of the world in many things. In addition, the high rate of HIV/AIDS in various parts of the continent kills 20 to 30 year olds and leaves many children as orphans. I bought this book so I could learn about the history of the diverse continent of Africa as well as current events, this book contained both. Also there are many interesting facts and figures such as in the year 2000, there were 10 million phones across Africa and half of them were in South Africa (pg 372 paperback edition). The paperback edition has 382 pages of reading. This book covers the complete continent of Africa and is a valuable and informative read.