Richard J. Reid - A History of Modern Africa: 1800 to the Present

This book stands as a remarkable achievement and will be the choice volume on modern African history for some time to come.

International Affairs

A number of introductions to African history aimed at the undergraduate and general reader have appeared in recent years. Reids text stands out among these as an invaluable teachingtool due to its concise but appealing tone, its clear style, and its sensitive treatment of Africas often tumultuous past and contested presentday experiences. This is an excellent introduction to Africa for the student reader.

History

This is a comprehensive, appealing and highlyaccessible history of modern Africa which portrays the continents turbulent past and contested present in all its variety and complexity. Its combination of sound scholarship, clear writing and humane understanding make it an important contribution to understanding of recent African history.

Bill Nasson, University of Cape Town

This is the book for which I have been waiting. The author has done all of us a great service in providing such an effective teaching tool.

Richard Waller, Bucknell University

Covering the major regions of the world, each history in this series provides a vigorous interpretation of its region's past in the modern age. Informed by the latest scholarship, but assuming no prior knowledge, each author presents developments within a clear analytic framework. Unusually, the histories acknowledge the limitations of their own generalizations. Authors are encouraged to balance perspectives from the broad historical landscape with discussion of particular features of the past that may or may not conform to the larger impression. The aim is to provide a lively explanation of the transformations of the modern period and the interplay between longterm change and defining moments of history.

Published

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Teresa A. Meade

Forthcoming

A History of Modern East Asia
Charles Armstrong

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Maurice Isserman

Europe since 1815
Albert Lindemann

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Rex Wade

THIRD EDITION

Richard J. Reid

This edition first published 2020
2020 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Edition History
John Wiley & Sons Ltd (2e, 2012); Blackwell Publishing Ltd (1e, 2009)

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The right of Richard J.Reid to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with law.

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Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Names: Reid, Richard J. (Richard James), author.
Title: A history of modern Africa : 1800 to the present / Richard J. Reid.
Description: Third edition. | Hoboken : Wiley, 2019. | Series: Concise history of the modern world | Includes index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2019014831 (print) | LCCN 2019015533 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119381952 (Adobe PDF) | ISBN 9781119381778 (ePub) | ISBN 9781119381921 (pbk.)
Subjects: LCSH: AfricaHistory. | AfricaHistoriography. | AfricaColonizationHistory. | DecolonizationAfricaHistory. | Slave tradeHistoryColonies.
Classification: LCC DT20 (ebook) | LCC DT20 .R45 2019 (print) | DDC 960.3dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019014831

Cover image: Robert Muckley / Getty Images
Cover design by Wiley

Still for Anna and May, and now also for Thea.

Events can be relied upon to leave the historian looking either prescient or foolish. Either way, the best that can be done is what has been attempted here: to bring the narrative up to date, and to highlight, by expanding the references, the key scholarly trends, and at least some of the key literature. Once again, my thanks go to those fellow travelers who, responding to Wiley's request, anonymously provided feedback on the previous edition; to my own friends and colleagues who offered constructive comments, including on behalf of their own students; and to the editorial team at Wiley for proposing a new edition and supporting its completion. I have become even more painfully aware of the inherent weaknesses of a general history, but I am even more convinced, in an everchanging world, of the need to attempt one. And the failings in this text remain, of course, my own.

I am now more keenly aware than ever before what a vulnerable creation is a general history, especially one that runs to the present. Thanks go to WileyBlackwell for the opportunity to perform some reconstructive surgery. I am also grateful to both published reviewers and providers of less formal feedback on the first edition for their suggestions and comments. As ever, the flaws are mine.

Whatever merits this book has are in large part thanks to the many people who have educated, inspired, and assisted the author in a myriad of ways over a number of years. These are too many to list in full here. But I should like to record my gratitude to just a few of them. Christopher Wheeler, now at Oxford University Press, suggested the book while he was still at Blackwell, and I am very grateful to him for the opportunity; Tessa Harvey and Gillian Kane at WileyBlackwell have been a pleasure to work with. Heartfelt thanks go to Richard Waller and an anonymous reviewer for their comments on an earlier draft. Murray Last, Robin Law, John McCracken, and Andrew Roberts have taught me more than they realize. Friends and colleagues at the University of Asmara in Eritrea and at Durham University and the School of Oriental and African Studies in the UK provided environments conducive to conceptualization and writing. Friends in eastern Africa have been both inspirational and questioning. Any remaining inadequacies are my responsibility.