The books and speeches every builder of Africa should know — sorted by man, soil and time.
Eleven books and speeches for anyone who wants to understand how Africa can renew itself. Start with the first six — they are the readings of our first reading circle.
Man — the person
- Malek Bennabi, The Conditions of Renaissance — why change starts inside a people.
- Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom — forgiving without forgetting.
- Chinua Achebe, The Trouble with Nigeria — a short, sharp book on leadership.
- Ibn Khaldun, The Muqaddimah — how group solidarity builds and breaks societies.
- Wangari Maathai, Unbowed — from village to Nobel Peace Prize.
- Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Decolonising the Mind — language, identity and confidence.
Soil — the resources
- Acemoglu and Robinson, Why Nations Fail — why institutions matter more than resources.
- Dambisa Moyo, Dead Aid — a challenge to aid dependency.
- Paul Collier, The Bottom Billion — the traps that keep the poorest countries poor.
Time — work and action
- Lee Kuan Yew, From Third World to First — building a nation in one generation.
- Thabo Mbeki, "I Am an African" (1996) — the speech behind the African Renaissance idea.