The search for Africa

by Basil Davidson

For more than forty years, Basil Davidson has been writing on Africa, helping to lift the curtain of ignorance that has too long cloaked that astonishing continent with its many vibrant peoples. In more than twenty books, from The Lost Cities of Africa to The African Genius to The Black Man's Burden, he has contributed to one of the truly liberating achievements of the twentieth century : the reinstallation of Africa's peoples within the culture of the world. Moreover, Davidson has done so with a spirit of infectious adventure and vitality and commitment. That spirit, fleshed out with deep research and attired in elegant style, has drawn countless readers to subjects otherwise approachable only by experts. Taken together, his many writings have made the excitement of intellectual discovery palpable for us all. In the course of his fruitful career Davidson has written many shorter pieces as well, and the best of these are collected for the first time in The Search for Africa. These pene