City of Thorns by Ben Rawlence Follow nine Somali refugees and learn what a refugee camp is really like: you may be surprised 384 pages (364 pages until Notes); Read the author’s Postscript It’s been a long time since I read my last book of history in Africa, but that is in part because good […]
Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder 277 pages (Acknowledgments begin page 259) Read this book from start to finish on a transcontinental flight—Deo’s survival story will help you tune out the annoying guy in the seat next to you—but plan to think about it for much longer. Tracy Kidder tells the story of a […]
Radio Congo: Signals of Hope from Africa’s Deadliest War by Ben Rawlence 303 pages (288 pages excluding Acknowledgements, Index, etc.) Read this thought-provoking book after the evening news, when you think you’re caught up on foreign affairs. Ben Rawlence’s book isn’t a military or political history of the region. Instead, he gives us an intimate […]
Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingstone by Martin Dugard 340 pages (316 pages without the Notes and Index) Beautifully paced narrative features short sections and chapters, just right for your stopover at a coffeehouse or a quick read on your lunch break I never knew to whom the famous sentence “Dr. Livingstone, […]
Indigo: In Search of the Color That Seduced the World by Catherine McKinley 235 pages Engaging first-person account can be a quick read, but not easily broken up for short sessions. This book was a happy accident: in my rush to the checkout, I’d thought I was grabbing a follow-up book by the author of […]
