A Continent for the Taking

InA Continent for the TakingHoward W. French, a veteran correspondent forTheNew York Times, gives a compelling firsthand account of some of Africa's most devastating recent historyfrom the fall of Mobutu Sese Seko, to Charles Taylor's arrival in Monrovia, to the genocide in Rwanda and the Congo that left millions dead. Blending eyewitness reportage with rich historical insight, Frenchsearches deeply into the causes of today's events, illuminating the debilitating legacy of colonization and the abiding hypocrisy and inhumanity of both Western and African political leaders. While he captures the tragedies that have repeatedly befallen Africa's peoples, French also opens our eyes to the immense possibility that lies in Africa's complexity, diversity, and myriad cultural strengths. The culmination of twenty-five years of passionate exploration and understanding, this is a powerful and ultimately hopeful book about a fascinating and misunderstood continent.

Howard W. French is a senior writer for the <i>New York Times. </i>After teaching at the University of Ivory Coast in the early 1980s, he began his journalism career writing about Africa for the <i>Washington Post, Africa News,</i> <i>The Economist</i> and numerous other publications. Since 1986, he has reported for the <i>Times</i> from Central America, the Caribbean, West and Central Africa, Japan, Korea and now China. In 1997, his coverage of the fall of Mobuto Sese Seko won the Overseas Press Club of America’s award for best newspaper interpretation of foreign affairs. French was born in Washington, D.C., and now lives in Shanghai with his wife and their two children.<br><br><br><i>From the Hardcover edition.</i>