(Winner of the Alan Paton Award 1998)A history of Africa, following the development of the continent from its earliest manifestations to the late twentieth century; identifying the physical processes which have determined the course of progress; and, where relevant, defining the ecological context in which those processes occurred.Drawing on many years of African experience, John Reader has written a book of startling grandeur and scope that recreates the great panorama of African history, from the primeval cataclysms that formed the continent to the political upheavals facing much of the continent today. Reader tells the extraordinary story of humankind's adaptation to the ferocious obstacles of forest, river and desert, and to the threat of debilitating parasites, bacteria and viruses unmatched elsewhere in the world. He also shows how the world's richest assortment of animals and plants has helped - or hindered - human progress in Africa.