Review by Booklist Review
Reader, in Africa: a Biography of the Continent (1998), wrote a powerful, scholarly account tracing the origins of the first Homo sapiens and their subsequent migrations throughout the world. He returns to the theme that "we all belong to Africa" in his latest title, a sweeping, lushly illustrated companion volume to an upcoming PBS series scheduled for broadcast in September. Divided into sections devoted to geographical regions (savanna, desert, mountains, coast, etc.), the text, illustrated with Michael Lewis' stunning photos, offers glimpses into regional ways of life, always noting how people have adapted to local climate and land. Although the author ends each chapter with a profile of a contemporary individual, his fascination for evolutionary processes shows throughout the book; readers looking for portraits of urban African life may be disappointed. But providing an all-inclusive overview of a continent's people and cultures is an impossible task, and Reader and Lewis offer a beautiful, lively, and opinionated volume, dense with information, while remaining accessible to a wide age range. --Gillian Engberg
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Two books on Africa with the same title and familiar themes, yet how different they are in content and approach! In a companion book to the eight-week PBS series that began on September 9, 2001, Reader (Africa: A Biography of the Continent) attempts to document in detail and with informed commentaries every aspect of the continent's evolution and its results. This ambitious and encyclopedic work describes and explains the African savannah and the continent's deserts, forests, mountains, lakes, and coasts. He does this with elegance and a rare admiration of Africa's role in human evolution and history. The land, its people, abundant wildlife, intriguing plants, and challenging climate all receive equal attention and emerge as intricate and indispensable parts of one grand natural scheme. Reader's tone is that of a devout evolutionist, and his style is fluid, simple, and clear. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
