A Brief Political and Geographic History of Africa: Where Are the Belgian Congo, Rhodesia, and Kush? (Places in Time/A Kid's Historic Guide to the Changing Names & Places of the World)

Davenport, John

ISBN 10: 1584156244 ISBN 13: 9781584156246

Publisher: Mitchell Lane Pub Inc, 2007

Synopsis

Africa is a vibrant but all-too-often misunderstood continent. Outsiders know Africa from the evening news as a collection of countries plagued by war, famine, disease, and poverty. Few people are aware of its rich past, dynamic present, and promising future. Africans, however, look back into a yesteryear crowded with empires and kingdoms and into a tomorrow filled with economic and political potential. The difference between these two ways of seeing Africa emerges from the fact that so many of the places that once dominated its landscape have disappeared from the world s maps. The Belgian Congo, Rhodesia, and Kush are but a few of the locations that no longer can be found on a modern globe. They were once central to the lives of millions of people, but now they are gone. They have become places lost in time.

About this title

About the Author:

John Davenport holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of Connecticut and is the author of numerous books on subjects ranging from biography to historical geography. His published works include a history of the Nuremburg war crimes trials and a biography of the medieval Muslim leader Saladin. Davenport teaches social studies at Corte Madera Middle School in Portola Valley, California. He lives in San Carlos, California, with his wife, Jennifer, and his two sons, William and Andrew.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 5–9—These two volumes attempt to cover several thousand years of history of continent-size landmasses in just over 100 pages. Each is flawed in ways that are to be expected for such a project—many broad generalizations appear, entire periods are glossed over, and areas and peoples not part of empires or other political units generally don't appear. There are minor factual errors in each volume including a caption in Middle East that claims that the rulers of Constantinople at the time of the Fourth Crusade were Arab Muslims. There are times when locations are described without maps, despite the geographic concentration of this series. At other times, maps are less than helpful, such as the map series in Africa showing the evolution of Cameroon that inexplicably ends in 1972. Page-long "For Your Information" segments sometimes expand on chapter topics but at other times are simply distractions. The same is true for illustrations. Librarians would do well to choose other titles that are more specific in temporal and geographic focus than these volumes.—Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WI
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About this edition

• Publisher: Mitchell Lane Pub Inc
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1584156244
• ISBN 13: 9781584156246
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 111