Precolonial Black Africa Paperback – August 1, 1988

Diop is and will probably remain for a long time to come the single greatest scholar of the African continent. The beauty about this book is that it flows you through time and allow you to reach a better understanding of your own self as an African. As a young Cameroonian, I have always wondered about certain facts unique to most Africans and up to recently, I was not able to connect the dots with our past. Diop analysis of history enables me to get a deeper understanding of the status of the individual, the symbols of the daily life and the metaphysical meaning of every social activity. His work should and has certainly sprung a lot of followers who have gone further into their culture to reap a better appreciation of their civilization. What is more important though is the fact that African are probably the only people who can claim an unique "sense of unity" based upon their common cultural and linguistic foundation in the Nile Valley and surrounding areas. This important and unique origin should be heralded in an environment of constant warfare and political division within the continent. A real appreciation of African history should allow the current States to rise above petty division but rather usher a new era of common economic and social development for the individual, the woman and the child in particular. The moment the African regain his own pride and consciousness, the moment he will cease to bow down to foreign imperialism and truly fight for the future of his Nation.

Glad I purchased this book for my collection. Great information. Knowledge is power.

Self education and the point of view by Black scholar historians on aspects of African history that are not well known.

Completes my library

This is exactly the perspective and origin history I've been searching for in my African and World studies. Offering a clear and well cited thesis on the influence of Precolonial Africa on our current world. Thoroughly enjoyable read.

Overall a good book. written like a school text. Some of the paragraphs seems unnecessarily wordy and complex. If you are going to read this you have to take time out and be ready to study.

Professor Cheikh Anta Diop is one of the truly multi-discipline scholars of African history and prehistory. He was an early African centered scholar before the term (if not the concept) of Afrocentricity was even born. His work in African historiography has been widely acknowledged (begrudgingly by in some quarters) as being seminal and original. I wish that more American departments of African and Africana studies would give his writings a more prominent place in their curricula. Perhaps francophone institutions in Africa already do.

I cannot understand how people can deny this guy work? Really this dude was a genius. I know that his work was sensible. But i cannot deny that his work is legit. No other scholars have been able to discredit his work. Its a shame that mainstream academy will never allow university to study his works. GREAT BOOK. Grab a copy, its a must.