The Greatest History Books of All Time Set in Africa

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 488 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
401 The Second World War Winston Churchill 1948 British English
421 Roots Alex Haley 1976 American English
1001 West With the Night Beryl Markham 1942 British English
1060 Long Walk To Freedom Nelson Mandela 1994 South African English
1301 Guns, Germs, and Steel Jared Diamond 1997 American English
1475 We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families Philip Gourevitch 1998 American English
1765 Facing Mount Kenya Jomo Kenyatta 1938 Kenyan English
1997 The History Of The Yorubas Reverend Samuel Johnson 1921 Nigerian English
1997 Native Life In South Africa Sol Plaatje 1916 South African English
2091 Antériorité Des Civilisations Nègres Cheikh Anta Diop 1954 Senegalese French
2469 Os Nacionalismos Africanos Mario de Andrade 1961 Brazilian Portuguese
2520 The Rise of the West William H. McNeill 1963 American English
2549 The Travels of Ibn Battutah Ibn Battúta 1355 Moroccan Arabic
2594 Indaba, My Children Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa 1964 South African English
2993 Histoire De L'afrique Noire Joseph Ki-Zerbo 1972 French French
3987 Second World War John Keegan 1989 British English
4149 Male Daughters, Female Husbands Ifi Amadiume 1987 Nigerian English
4321 The Invention Of Africa V. Y. Mudimbe 1988 Congolese English
4517 The Black Atlantic Paul Gilroy 1993 British English
4635 The Age Of Extremes Eric Hobsbawm 1994 British English
4892 The Emperor Ryszard Kapuscinski 1978 Polish Polish
4977 In My Father's House Anthony Appiah 1992 Ghanaian English
5362 Kosmos. Entwurf Einer Physischen Weltbeschreibung Alexander von Humboldt 1845 German German
5599 Exterminate All The Brutes Sven Lindqvist 1992 Swedish Swedish
5610 The Seed Is Mine Charles Van Onselen 1996 South African English
5653 Against the Day Thomas Pynchon 2006 American English
5859 The Dragon's Gift Deborah Brautigam 2009 Unknown English
5884 Murambi Ou Le Livre Des Ossements Boubacar Boris Diop 1998 Senegalese French
5915 No Mercy Redmond O'Hanlon 1997 British English
6427 Empire Of Cotton Sven Beckert 2014 American English
6594 China's Second Continent Howard W. French 2014 American English
6677 The History Of White People Nell Irvin Painter 2010 American English
7574 Move Your Shadow Joseph Lelyveld 1986 American English
8079 Praying for Sheetrock Melissa Fay Greene 1991 American English
8382 My Friends Hisham Matar 2024 British Unknown
8395 This Strange Eventful History Claire Messud 2024 Unknown English
8809 The Rebel's Clinic Adam Shatz 2024 Unknown English
9459 The Viceroy Of Ouidah Bruce Chatwin 1980 British English
9732 The Discoverers Daniel J. Boorstin 1983 American English
9996 Changó, The Biggest Badass Manuel Zapata Olivella 1983 Colombian Spanish
10379 All The Worst Humans Phil Elwood 2024 Unknown English
10434 The Last Colony Philippe Sands 2024 Unknown English
10770 The Hot Zone Richard Preston 1994 American English
11011 Don't Let's Go To The Dogs Tonight Alexandra Fuller 2001 British English
11514 The Problem of Slavery in Western Culture David Brion Davis 1966 American English
11867 The Making Of A Tropical Disease Randall M. Packard 2007 American English
12197 Poverty And Famines Amartya Sen 1981 Indian English
12550 The Missionary Movement In Christian History Andrew Walls 1996 Scottish English
13139 Bones Of Contention Roger Lewin 1987 British English
13403 Catiline's War, The Jugurthine War, Histories Sallust -40 Roman Latin
14169 Poems Of Léopold S. Senghor Léopold S. Senghor 1945 Senegalese French
14195 Journal of the Discovery of the Source of the Nile John Hanning Speke 1863 British English
14205 The Principal Navigations Richard Hakluyt 1589 British English
14371 The Fearful Void Geoffrey Moorhouse 1974 British English
14371 Water Music T. C. Boyle 1982 American English
14371 Plagues And People William H. McNeill 1976 American English
14371 Story Of Mankind Hendrik Willem van Loon 1921 American English
14371 Mukiwa Peter Godwin 1996 British English
14371 Virtual War Michael Ignatieff 2000 Canadian English
14371 Season Of Blood Fergal Keane 1996 British English
14371 Frantz Fanon David Macey 2001 Unknown English