The Trouble with Africa Why Foreign Aid Isn't Working

While many complain that wealthy nations turn a cold shoulder to the poorest continent, Calderisi exposes the startling degree to which Africa's problems come from within. He reveals the shortcomings of foreign aid and debt relief, and proposes his own radical solutions. Readers will be shocked to learn that Africa has steadily lost markets by its own mismanagement, that even capitalist countries are anti-business, that African family values and fatalism are more destructive than tribalism, and that African leaders prey intentionally on Western guilt. This urgent wake-up call is aimed at those who are critical of the U.S. and other rich countries for not "doing more to help." Coming from an outspoken high-level official, this is a message that will create intrigue and outrage and spark a timely debate.

Robert Calderisi studied at the Universities of Montreal, Oxford, Sussex and London. A 1968 Rhodes Scholar, he first visited Africa in November 1975. He has had a thirty-year career in international development, principally at the World Bank, where he held several senior positions. From 1997 to 2000, he was the Bank’s international spokesperson on Africa. He has lived in France, the Ivory Coast, Tanzania, the United Kingdom, and the US. He is now a consultant and writer, splitting his time between Montreal and Paris.