The place of Africa in world history is as important as its future is strategic to world development. This book reminds us of the often-unacknowledged relevance of Africa's relationship with the world and argues that any conceptualisation of world history is incomplete without a consideration of Africa's role … without which we cannot claim to have reached any ‘logical social conclusion’ (p. 1). Among other things, this book aims to re-articulate the journey of African Independence as seen through ‘African eyes’ and presents a powerful narrative of the African struggle to be deemed ‘human in a world in which too much of the wealth and power remains in the hands of a very few people’ (p. 2). This is in light of the argument that the modern idea of Africa has itself emerged from ‘dehumanizing crucibles’ (p. 6) with its contemporary narrative and relationship to the ‘powers-that-be’ sustained by the rhetoric of conflict, disease and aid.

Tukufu Zuberi tells this story through the recollections of the actors themselves, many of whom experienced first-hand the dehumanisation and suffering that came with the struggle for social justice and equity on the continent. For as the old saying goes, until the lions learn to write, every story will glorify the hunter, and since the ‘official story’ of history is determined by he who has the authority to speak (p. 10), the author has sought to ‘see as his respondents see’ with a view to evolving what we might consider an authentic lived account of the African Independence movement. In this case, the author's subaltern (Spivak, Reference Spivak, Nelson and Grossberg1988) – those whose experiences and voices are often excluded from mainstream narratives of their own history – have spoken.

Through effortful exploration of newsreel, documents and interviews, Zuberi explores the journey of African Independence through the experiences of the actors themselves. It begins with a critical analysis of the moral and ideological contradiction posed by classical European expansionism and Europe's anti-fascist struggle to preserve its democratic freedoms in WWII and the indigenous struggle for Independence from the stronghold of European colonialism. It examines in detail the various expressions of the African struggle in the post-war agency (e.g. the Independence movement) and presents a rather compelling picture of Africa as proxy battleground for the East/West superpowers during the Cold War and finally, as birthplace of contemporary freedom symbols, e.g. Nelson Mandela.

There are a lot of things to like about this book. In his masterful articulation of history, Zuberi outlines how powerful external interests have often undermined African independence and prevented meaningful actualisation of the social and economic justice of which the continent remains in dire need and again, to which its world counterparts appear to have paid little more than lip service. Another thing to like is its forward-looking dimension. Much unlike other accounts, this analysis not only explores what Africa is or where it has been, but far more strategically, gives prudent thought to what Africa could be. It argues for a conscious recognition by the rest of the world, not just of Africa's place in world history but more importantly, of the strategic importance of its role in the future of world development; a relevance that is often unacknowledged.

However, this analysis does throw up other necessary questions.

First, the author notes that ‘Africa's baptism into the conflict that would escalate into World War II, began with Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia’ (p. 20). Nevertheless, this claim does not make very explicit any strong causal links between the Italian invasion of Ethiopia and the outbreak of WWII. As much as this is insinuated, it is difficult to identify from the narrative a direct causal relationship between Mussolini's invasion of Africa and the outbreak of WWII, except if we assume that Italy's colonial presence in Africa did itself provide a basis for its attack on British interests. But this argument is logically unjustifiable given the prior existing Italian colonial presence in Eritrea and Somaliland. That notwithstanding, it is possible that Mussolini's actualisation of Italian expansionism via the Ethiopian invasion may have emboldened the dictator in a run-up to the initial offensive against Britain in Africa. If this is the author's submission, it is not explicitly stated in this account of African history. It is also important to remember that Britain drew on its colonial human resources in Africa to fight WWII and with/without Mussolini, Africa would still have been ‘baptised’ one way or another into this conflict.

I am also not convinced that in response to President De Gaulle's options, other nations ‘followed suit after Guinea’ (pp. 66–7). It is commonly held that nations such as Ivory Coast, Togo and Benin feared to suffer the same fate as Guinea – i.e. the abrupt French withdrawal and the attendant collapse of French institutions and the huge economic and infrastructural disruption that came with it – choosing instead to remain tied to the economic apron strings of France. In this book, we are not specifically told which exactly of De Gaulle's other options these nations took. Nevertheless, of particularly insightful value is the factual account of the French role in the rise of military dictatorship in post-colonial West and Central Africa. This is interesting to note, given the often-sweeping attribution of this to the ‘Africans natural lust for power’; for it might well be that the subversive actions of the postcolonial African soldier did indeed bear the cultural markings of his former masters' brutality.

Finally, given the colonial strategy of ‘divide and rule’, it is of equal analytical relevance to consider what it was in African society that made it so easily fractious in the first place; it is refreshing to see that this book tackles this in significant detail. Why was it so easy to divide and subsequently render such a resource-rich continent an elephant on its knees in perpetual need of aid? The part that Africans themselves played in this decline is often overlooked. Given that the modern concept of Africa is itself a colonial construct, with its modern nation-states a colonial contraption of heterogeneous cultures and diverse ethnicities; the role of tribal differences and loyalties in undermining the African struggle for emancipation in this particular narrative is well presented. The critical issue of ethnic vs. national identity and the relevance of this to the actualisation of African independence, as well as the role of African leadership in negotiating this identity is also extensively considered.

This is crucial, given that the fundamental unit of identity of the African is mostly rooted in the affiliation to his tribe and clan (Achebe, Reference Achebe2009) and against the colonial backdrop of Africans' contested humanity, the Pan-Africanists, in re-asserting what it meant to be human, may well have forgotten to define what it meant to be ‘African’. That the author notes this as a drawback of the independence movement, places this book in a factual analytical class of its own. Overall, this is a deeply insightful, masterfully articulated must-read!