3 Review(s)

Many African countries are now described as "Fourth World nations," ones which essentially have no future. How could this have happened? Through the scope of the 1960s, the first decade of African independence, Peter Schwab presents a compelling and provocative answer to this question. Designing West Africa tells the story of a pivotal decade in African history, when the fate of the continent was decided. Focusing on the six most visible leaders of the period - Sekou Toure, Kwame Nkrumah, and others - Schwab shows how Africa served as a grounds to play out larger international conflicts, namely the Cold War. He does not fall back solely on blaming non-African involvement for the failure to build a viable leadership for the continent; rather, he critiques the African leaders themselves for their individual failings.