An African History of Africa cover art

An African History of Africa

From the Dawn of Humanity to Independence

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for £0.00
£8.99/mo thereafter. Renews automatically. Terms apply. Offer ends 31 July 2025 at 23:59 GMT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.

An African History of Africa

By: Zeinab Badawi
Narrated by: Zeinab Badawi
Try for £0.00

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends 31 July 2025 23:59 GMT. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £16.99

Buy Now for £16.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Everyone is originally from Africa, and this book is therefore for everyone.

For too long, Africa's history has been neglected. Dominated by western narratives of slavery and colonialism, its past has been fragmented, overlooked and denied its rightful place in our global story.

Now, Zeinab Badawi guides us through Africa's spectacular history, from the origins of humanity, through ancient civilisations and medieval empires with powerful queens and kings, to the miseries of conquest and the elation of independence.

Seeking out occluded histories from across the continent, meeting with countless historians, anthropologists, archaeologists and local storytellers, and travelling through more than thirty countries, Badawi weaves together a fascinating new account of Africa: an epic, sweeping history of the oldest inhabited continent on the planet, told through the voices of Africans themselves.

©2024 Zeinab Badawi (P)2024 Penguin Audio Africa Anthropology Sociology Thought-Provoking Inspiring Royalty Imperialism Middle ages Middle East

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Black and British cover art
The Lie of the Land cover art
Empire of Things cover art
Colonialism cover art
In Search of the Dark Ages cover art
Capital and Ideology cover art
A History of the World cover art
The Fyodor Dostoyevsky Complete Collection cover art
Devil-Land cover art
A Day's Read cover art
The Great Ideas of Philosophy, 2nd Edition cover art
Learn Spanish While You Sleep & Learn Spanish While Driving in Your Car cover art

Critic reviews

Zeinab Badawi’s remarkable new book lives up to her dependable standards of excellence. It takes the reader on an up-close-and-personal journey across this unique continent, seemingly holding your hand while uncovering extraordinary gems of truth as she allows previously untold stories to be heard (Margaret Busby CBE)
A fascinating, thought-provoking and entertaining romp through several thousand years of history . . . This book is for everyone not only in the sense that we are all, ultimately, from Africa, but also because it is highly readable (Justin Marozzi)
A refreshing corrective to narratives imposed on the continent by others . . . Ambitious in scope . . . The very act of telling African history from an African perspective and by making this history accessible to a wide audience is an assertion of dignity and an invitation to learn more . . . As Badawi puts it: “I hope I have demonstrated that Africa has a history, that it is a fundamental part of our global story, and one that is worthy of greater attention and respect than it has so far received.” She most certainly has (Simukai Chigdu)
Authoritative and compelling (Sathnam Sanghera)
Both a tour d'horizon and a tour de force, marvellously readable and beautifully written. This is a book that should be read by anyone who is interested in Africa, by anyone who thinks they know all they need to know about Africa, and above all by anyone who has no interest in Africa at all. It will transform their views of the continent, its peoples and its histories. I cannot recommend it too strongly or praise it too highly (Professor Sir David Cannadine)
Epic, magnificent, brilliant. Zeinab Badawi's soaring African history is as majestic, thrilling and vibrant as the continent of Africa itself. A moving personal journey, an investigation into the earliest years of human life, a powerful manifesto for historical research and national memory, this genius book - bursting with stories of incredible courage and determination, from battling empires, colonial fightback, ending the slave trade and forming nations - is a tour de force and entirely unforgettable (Professor Kate Williams)
This is a book we have needed: a clear account of the fascinating history of Africa from an African perspective. I learned something on every page. It will leave everyone who reads it better informed and more thoughtful about the vast opportunity that can now be found in a continent we have often misunderstood (William Hague)
One of the greatest strengths of this wonderful African History of Africa and what makes it so engaging is the way Zeinab Badawi narrates the great sweep of this continent’s rich history as a personal voyage of discovery, and in doing so is able to portray her feelings of the experience, be it touching humanity’s most ancient bones or venturing into the dungeons of slave castles (Dr Kevin Shillington)
All stars
Most relevant  
I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about African kingdoms of the past, and more of present day Africa.
A recommended listen.

Interesting history lessons

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I have been looking for more information on African history and this was a good book for that. There is so little I felt I know about African history and this was full of many very interesting facts and perspectives. Sometimes a little dry due to many facts but it did enlighten me a lot. Worked better for me approaching it in chunks, but I did enjoy it,

Good overview of African history

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Zeinab takes you on a fantastic, at times dark, journey brilliantly told through vignettes of African history in a way I've not heard before. I wanted to listen to her read this after contemplating my own knowledge of the continent and I wanted to broaden my scope of understanding. I love this book, I now want to read it again in print.

Breath of Fresh Air

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is an excellent book which gives you an overview of the history of this vast continent. Of course it cannot go into detail with such a vast hinterland of history to explore. But what it does with clarity, compassion, and some humour, is to show without doubt that the continent has a long, rich, vibrant and sophisticated history.

It clearly shows that African history does not start with the arrival of the Europeans which so many of us have - and in some cases are still being taught. This for me, this is a book that should find a home on everyone’s physical or digital bookshelf.

Required listening for anyone interested in Africa.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Loved listening to this. Zeinab Badawi has a perfect, melodious voice for audio books. Found the epilogue particularly moving and inspiring.

Wide ranging and inspiring

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
An engaging listen and well written. There is an initially uncomfortable amount of colonial history and enslavement but it gets easier as you allow it sink in and, although it can be depressing and uncomfortable, it's also impressive and encouraging to hear about the heroism and pride of the African nations.

Engaging

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
It’s was amazing as an African this should be taught in schools, I believe I have a lot of pride in my ancestry, thank you

Ghana

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The strategic collaboration with academics and historian was fascinating and mesmerising and incredible to listen to
Thank you very much

The indept literature research analysis on the history of Africa, where incredible

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
learnt alot about africa that I have not come across in popular sources. I can relate with all that's been said being an African. Reminds me of General African Studies back in University

insightful and interesting

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I really enjoyed this book, it was informative, well researched and fascinating. At times it was like listening to someone narrates a novel. Beautifully read,engaging,enlightening, just a wonderful all round experience.

The Narration of the title by the Author

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews