The African Experience: From 'Lucy' to Mandela

By: Kenneth P. Vickery, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Kenneth P. Vickery

The story of Africa is the oldest and most event-filled chronicle of human activity on the planet. And in these 36 lectures, you'll explore this great historical drama, tracing the story of the Sub-Saharan region of the continent from the earliest evidence of human habitation to the latest challenges facing African nations in the 21st century.

By learning with these lectures, you'll finally be able to bust myths and correct potential misunderstandings about Africa. For example, in Africa, the word "tribe" is used in a neutral way to connote ethnic identity. Another example: Sub-Saharan Africa was not as isolated as is often suggested by references to the "lost" continent; in fact, an ancient Greek sailing guide from 2,000 years ago clearly shows that the East African coast was already connected commercially with areas to the north.

The primary focus of these eye-opening lectures is Sub-Saharan Africa, the region separated from North Africa by the harsh climate of the Sahara Desert and traditionally the part of the continent that has been the most mysterious and most misunderstood by Westerners. But by traveling on this exciting learning experience (one imbued with a pervasive spirit of charm and adventure), you'll finally be able to strengthen your understanding of this beautiful, multifaceted region.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2006 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2006 The Great Courses

Excellent source and introduction

Where does The African Experience: From 'Lucy' to Mandela rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I would rank it quite high. Well read. Enough information to give you the overview and suggested readings if you want to dig further. Nice, comprehensive overview.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. It was nice to have time to think.

Perfect

I was looking for an overview of African history and the substance and delivery was perfect. Sad to not find any more Audibles done by the author.

A good overview of a huge topic

Enjoyable lecturer with a personable style covering a vast subject matter in a manner which retained my interest.

Highly recommended

Great overview. Left me wanting more. I was surprised that there was no mention of the conflict in Uganda, though it was nice to get coverage of Zambia in detail, which was unexpected.

I enthusiastically recommend this lecture series.

I thoroughly enjoyed this lecture series and will probably listen to it again to better absorb the wealth of information it contains.

While I had a superficial knowledge of much of the information, these lectures provided the background for the what and why of events, and provided a deeper understanding of the forces and situations that produced them. This understanding has helped to dispell many of the myths which (I am ashamed to say) I held.

Additionally, the lectures placed the Sub-Saharan African cultures and events within the greater world view. In so doing it presented a history which showed its connections and influences upon that world. Again, this was new to me. In the past my experience of African history has always been presented alone and as a topic completely separate from the rest of world history. The only exception to this was in the brief referrals to the African slave trade to the Americas, and even then the history had always been presented from the viewpoint of the white plantation owners or the white movement to abolish slavery. This isolation of Africa history allowed me to marginalize and dismiss African history as not particularly relevant. I was not even aware I held this view until after I listened to this course.

I found the course to be well balanced. The professor doesn't demonize the white races but presents their motivations in economic terms arising out of their own poverty and need for security. Nor does it glorify leaders of the native populations as heroes without blemish and innocent of any motivations toward self aggrandisement and self interest. Rather I found the professor presented the motivations of both peoples to be founded upon human needs and aspirations common to us all.

Another plus: the professor doesn't perseverate on the gory details of how each side behaved toward the other. Those in search of the sensationalism found in supermarket tabloids or frequently emphasized in movies should look elsewhere.

A negative factor is the way the professor/narrator presents his information. He has a somewhat halting speech pattern, but I did not find it that much different from the speech patterns of many professors. I believe anyone who has taken several college or university courses will be familiar with this mode of speaking and will not be put off by it. However, I believe that even those not familiar with this type of speech pattern will find the information compelling enough to listen to all the lectures, and count it as well worth their time.

Not what I expected

This is a good course but less comprehensive than the title suggests. The main focus is on the colonial era. I was more interested in learning about Africa before white oppression.

WOW!

This is the best course I have taken in this series. This professor exposed me to breath and depth of African history that was foreign to me. As a Black-American I am deeply grateful to everyone who played a role in the execution of this course.

Some interesting insights

A good overview of the subject with some genuinely interesting insights but a little light and one-sided on the reality of Africa, especially the recent past. admittedly, it is a huge subject to pack into a lecture series but it seemed to portray Africa a little too idealistically. And yes. I am African.

A Great Listen! Informative, Entertaining, and Inspiring

This is one of the best Great Courses I’ve listened to. A great introduction to an entire continent

Fantastic

Comprehensive, engaging, and insightful analysis of a huge and complex topic. I highly recommend this.