Ghana Books

The Door of No Return: The History of Cape Coast Castle and the Atlantic Slave Trade

William St Clair

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

The Door of No Return is a welcome addition to public and college library history shelves. 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

Written by William St Claire (former Senior Research Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge University), The Door of No Return: The History of Cape Coast Castle and the Atlantic Slave Trade is an in-depth history of the Cape Coast Castle in Ghana, Africa, and its role it served as headquarters for the horrific British slave trade, until the slave trade's abolishment in 1807. Drawing heavily from years of personal research into the Castle's vast archive of public records and ledges - from letters and correspondence to scribbled notes and even the recipes of trafficked slaves - The Door of No Return offers a unique, in-depth scrutiny of this dark place and phase of human history. Written in plain terms and illustrated with a handful of black-and-white photographs, The Door of No Return is a welcome addition to public and college library history shelves.

Editorial Review:

The grim history of the slave trade from Africa is one that has had an impact on generations of people all over the world. While much of the initial voyage and inhumane treatment of slavery has been historically analyzed, there has been little written on the several forts and castles along the coast of Ghana that were used as slave holding facilities. This book focuses primarily on Cape Coast Castle, the African headquarters of the British slave trade from 1664 to 1807, through which countless men, women, and children were sold as slaves and carried away on slave ships, often to North America. It tells the story of the people who lived, worked, or were imprisoned within its walls, as well as the construction and upkeep of the building, the arrivals and departures of ships, the negotiations with local African leaders, and the deadly diseases inside.

Ghana: An African Portrait Revisited

Peter E. Randall, Abena Busia

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A Great Piece of Documentary Photography 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

It is rare that such a sensitive portrait of a nation can be achieved in the short period of time that these six talented photographers had to shoot but the word "talented" is what made it all possible.

Each sees the country from a different point of view and the synergy produced is simply awesome. I enjoyed turning each page for the surprise that ensued and I realized that Ghana was not just another African hellhole but a place that I would ike to learn more about and visit someday.

The warm personalities of the people just jump from the pages and I immediately suggested to the principal of the predominately African-American school where I substitute teach that it be acquired for the school library.

Don't miss this one. It's got great layout, a marvelous preface by the director of the project as to how it evolved, and a great introductory essay by a woman born in Ghana who is now a U.S. scholar who discusses in folksy terms the fascinating history of the country and also refers to individual images in the book. There's also a timeline that brings you up to speed on this fascinating country's history.

When I finshed the book, it went on a special shelf in my library reserved for A-Plus photo books so I can have quick access to page through them over and over again.

You'll love this book!

Editorial Review:

In 1963, master twentieth-century photographer Paul Strand documented Ghana, the first sub-Saharan colony to become an independent country. On the fiftieth anniversary of GhanaÕs independence, six New Hampshire photographers journeyed to the West African country to document the changes that occurred over the decades. This full color book covers education, medicine, fishing, crafts, markets, and many portraits of everyday life.

Watch and Pray: A Portrait of Fante Village Life in Transition (Case Studies in Cultural Anthropology)

Lundgren

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Editorial Review:

The matrilineal Fante are members of one of the most populous ethnic groups in Ghana, the Akan. They are the dominant group in the Cape Coast area and have a long history in the region. They are Fanti speakers, but also speak the national language, which is English. This case study provides an intimate look at the Fante, who now reside in towns and villages, are predominantly Christian and earn their living primarily as traders, farmers and fishing people, but are found in all walks of life including: government officials, teachers, University professors, lawyers and doctors. The people of Akotokiyr and Abaasa and Nim want readers to know about their villages and the people associated with them because they represent a spirit and a tradition and a collaborative lifestyle that are rapidly changing. The book makes it possible for readers to become participants in the scene—be it in a home, a "palace" of a chief, a church, in the market place, or in the author’s own home—where they can see firsthand the ways in which the new is being incorporated into the old. As the Series Editor says, "the blazing sun, the airless rooms with concrete block walls with roofs of sheet iron, the dust, flies, rough streets, the verdant forest, the streams the open, running sewers, all become habitats of our minds as we read of the author's interactions with people in the small villages where she is living and working."

Culture and Customs of Ghana (Culture and Customs of Africa)

Steven J. Salm, Toyin Falola

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The decades of independence in Ghana have strengthened the idea of a national Ghanaian culture. The culture and customs of Ghana today are a product of diversity in traditional forms, influenced by a long history of Islamic and European contact. Culture and Customs of Ghana is the first book to concisely provide an up-to-date narrative on the most significant elements of the established cultural life and institutions as well as the most recent changes in the cultural landscape. Written expressly for students and the general reader, it belongs in every library supporting multicultural and African studies curricula. Ghana seeks to cultivate the philosophy of the "African personality," to revive, maintain, and promote Ghanaian ways of life and integrate them into political and social institutions. Ghanaians also recognize their relationship to the rest of the world and continue to develop with the forces of globalization. Culture and Customs of Ghana authoritatively discusses the vibrant and adaptable people, from their religions to music and dance. A chronology, glossary, and numerous photos complement the text.

Stencils West Africa Ghana (Ancient and Living Cultures)

Myra Herr, Christopher Ronan

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Great Art-In-Culture Resource for Children! 4 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

Although limited to Ghanian culture, this interactive publication serves as a useful resource tool and springboard in discovering the significance of symbols often found in African objects and textiles. Several Adinkra stencils symbolic of specific proverbs, social concepts and/or ideas are contained therein; they can be effectively used in craft-related stenciling and art activities. (I used STENCILS: WEST AFRICA: GHANA for a special Social Studies/Language Arts unit I developed for my first graders and for a Grades 2-5 African Heritage After School Program. The use of these materials and information contained therein has proven educational, enlightening, and stimulating for my young learners!) West Africa: Ghana (Ancient and Living Cutlures) is worth the purchase for educators, parents, and/or those interested learning about other cultures!

Editorial Review:

Children discover and explore the rich heritage of ancient cultures around the world through fascinating myths, legends, festivals, and stories of the culture. Detailed maps and vivid illustrations show how various people lived and what they accomplished. Each book in this popular series contains five easy-to-do art projects- complete with unique punch-out stencils for making many of the traditional arts and crafts still produced today. Ages 8+

A Passage to Africa

George Alagiah

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Not so much a biography, more a history of political struggle in Africa 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Now, I had my reservations when my mother bought me this book, I don't tend to read biographies, least of all of C list celebrities. However I was surprised by this book - it is excellent. George Alagiah has an engaging writing style full of wit with a deeply humanistic sentiment, his experiences in Africa from the time he emigrated from Sri Lanka (as a Tamil) to Ghana up until his time as a BBC reporter are used as background to the history of a number of countries and their adjustment to a post-colonial world. He offers explanations of their frequent failures, examples of their successes and his optimistic hopes for the future.

Editorial Review:

As a five-year-old, George Alagiah emigrated with his family to Ghana—the first African country to attain independence from the British Empire. A Passage to Africa is Alagiah's shattering catalogue of atrocities crafted into a portrait of Africa that is infused with hope, insight, and outrage. In vivid and evocative prose and with a fine eye for detail, Alagiah's viewpoint is spiked with the freshness of the young George on his arrival in Ghana, the wonder with which he recounts his first impressions of Africa, and the affection with which he dresses his stories of his early family life. A sense of possibility lingers, even though the book is full of uncomfortable truths. It is a book neatly balanced on his integrity and sense of obligation in his role as a writer and reporter.

Ghana's New Christianity: Pentecostalism In A Globalising African Economy

Paul Gifford

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The History of Ghana (The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations)

Roger S. Gocking

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Editorial Review:

Gocking provides a historical overview of Ghana from the emergence of precolonial states through increasing contact with Europeans that led to the establishment of formal colonial rule by Great Britain at the end of the 19th century. Colonial rule transformed what was known as the Gold Coast economically, socially, and politically, but it contained the seeds of its own demise. After World War II an increasingly more effective nationalist movement challenged British rule, and in 1957 Ghana became independent. Independence brought its own challenges, the most important of which was the inability to maintain political stability. Within the space of 24 years there were four military coups and the collapse of three republics. Ghana's Fourth Republic, established in 1993, has dealt with the legacy of instability inherited from the past as it moves towards a more stable future. A timeline, photographs, maps, and an appendix of biographies of notable figures in the history of Ghana are included. Students and adults alike will find this book to be highly effective in describing the often turbulent and tumultuous history of this country.

Ghana. Understanding the People and their Culture

John Kuada, Yao Chachah

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 1.0 of 5

Printed in someone's garage! 1 out of 5 stars.
2 of 5 people found this review helpful.

This is a very low quality printed book. I do not recommend it for the price they are charging. I would pay something less then $10 but nothing more then that. I talked to one of the individuals who is reading it and he says it is o.k. I am just saying that it is very low quality and I will look for something else for this premium price.

Editorial Review:

There is little written by Ghanaians to help foreigners understand their culturally prescribed rules of behaviour. This fascinating book offers an introduction to the Ghanaian people and is of use to visitors to Ghana, and those interested in the country and its culture. It covers geography and demography; political history; the economy; religions and customs; institutions and ceremonies that take place at different stages in life; underlying values and rules of behaviour; amusements and festivals; places of interest and guidelines for the good traveller.

Routes of Remembrance: Refashioning the Slave Trade in Ghana

Bayo Holsey

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Editorial Review:

Over the past fifteen years, visitors from the African diaspora have flocked to Cape Coast and Elmina, two towns in Ghana whose chief tourist attractions are the castles and dungeons where slaves were imprisoned before embarking for the New World. This desire to commemorate the Middle Passage contrasts sharply with the silence that normally cloaks the subject within Ghana. Why do Ghanaians suppress the history of enslavement? And why is this history expressed so differently on the other side of the Atlantic?

Routes of Remembrance tackles these questions by analyzing the slave trade’s absence from public versions of coastal Ghanaian family and community histories, its troubled presentation in the country’s classrooms and nationalist narratives, and its elaboration by the transnational tourism industry. Bayo Holsey discovers that in the past, African involvement in the slave trade was used by Europeans to denigrate local residents, and this stigma continues to shape the way Ghanaians imagine their historical past. Today, however, due to international attention and the curiosity of young Ghanaians, the slave trade has at last entered the public sphere, transforming it from a stigmatizing history to one that holds the potential to contest global inequalities.

Holsey’s study will be crucial to anyone involved in the global debate over how the slave trade endures in history and in memory.

(20080111)