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A Journey through 500,000 Years of African Culture and Identity
by Luke Pepera
A groundbreaking exploration of 500,000 years of African history, cultures and identity.
Historian, archaeologist, and anthropologist Luke Pepera takes us on a personal journey discovering 500,000 years of African history and cultures in order to reclaim and reconnect with this extraordinary heritage. He tackles the question many people of African descent ask - Who are we? Where do we come from? What defines us? And it explores how knowledge of this deeper history might affect current understandings of African identity.
Through thematically-linked chapters that explore aspects of African identity from nomadic culture and matriarchal society to beliefs about the afterlife and the tradition of oral storytelling, and interwoven with Luke's own experiences of exploring his Ghanaian family history and his personal questions of identity, this is a comprehensive, relevant and beautifully told new history of Africa, and how it has shaped the world we know today.
"A stirring, optimistic portrait of African identities and meaning making, past and present." —Kirkus Reviews
"[A] sprawling account...Rendered in charming, conversational prose, this edifies." —Publishers Weekly
"Pepera's accessible recounting of history and straightforward writing style offer space for readers new to African history to find avenues for further exploration. A sprawling, eclectic celebration of Africa's vast and varied history." —Booklist
"Motherland is a colorful, crisply narrated journey through the history of the continent that made mankind. Luke Pepera folds together political, cultural and spiritual history, dancing deftly between centuries and traditions. Motherland is a splendid, clear-eyed, compelling debut from a brilliant new historian." ―Dan Jones, New York Times bestselling author of Henry V
"Wonderful and illuminating: a historical and personal journey through 500,000 years of African history, power and culture, with a fascinating cast of African leaders and artists, from imperial conquerors and warrior queens to rappers, activists and migrants, from prehistory to the 21st century. An essential read." ―Simon Sebag Montefiore, New York Times bestselling author
This information about Motherland was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Luke Pepera is a writer, broadcaster, historian, and anthropologist dedicated to sharing his passion for African history and cultures. He was born in Ghana and has a degree from St. Peter's College, Oxford, where he read Archaeology & Anthropology and studied ancient and medieval African history. Since graduating he has worked at the Pitt Rivers Museum, The Times, and Tatler, and has written and presented Africa: Written Out of History, a documentary for Dan Snow's History Hit.
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