Reddit mentions: The best historical african biographies

Once you start accepting orphans, how are you going to feel if you have to turn away children because you've reached your limit or they don't fit your age group? This is one of those things a lot of people struggle with.

I think that having some foreign volunteers is great, but I'd caution too much about depending on foreigners volunteering (or being paid) for too many things. Remember that any time you can hire locals you're providing a much larger contribution to the local economy than when someone volunteers for a year. Not to say you won't need volunteers or use them, but try to be careful to use locals when you can.

I'm not sure what you have as far as land, but hopefully you can set up a small scale farm, so as to provide most of the food for your orphanage as well as have some to sell/trade for the things you don't grow/raise. Vegetables/bananas/Chickens/etc are all fairly easy to raise and provide a return very quickly. Also, children can learn valuable skills as well.

While their may be profit in minibuses and other ventures, remember that you're a foreigner. It can be difficult to deal with all the petty theft and extra bribes that come with the knowledge that the owner is a Mzungu. Not to say don't try-but be careful.

Africa is an awesome place, and I often long to go back. You'll learn to love it too. It does have some issues from time to time though, as you're noticing. Long term you are likely going to want to invest in a generator and perhaps some solar panels. Until you're more developed and established though you probably can't plan out that need.

These books don't quite relate to orphanages, but more in general to Africa and aid throughout the world-if you haven't read them I'd recommend you get your hands on them as it can help with understanding a lot of why things are the way they are in Africa.

Africa Doesn't Matter

The Fate of Africa

Festival Elephants and the Myth of Global Poverty

And not quite related, but a nice story from a wonderful woman (who's sadly now passed away) that went to Africa in her youth, lived there her entire life, and ran an orphanage: Land of a Thousand Hills (Disclaimer: I lived very close to her house at Mugongo and I knew her as a child; I last saw her in 2005 on my last visit to Rwanda.)

Sadly, my work keeps me busy where I am and I don't really get a chance to volunteer... I'd love to transition to working with an aid agency though instead of what I do now. No luck so far, but I'll keep trying...

I'm a really big fan of "It Worked for Me" by Colin Powell. If you ever want to believe again in the American Dream then his autobiography "My American Journey" is great as well.

Aside from that 'Leading with Honor" is good as well. It has a lot of good messages and a lot of historical information from that time.

"Generating Buy In" is a very good and very short read.

It isn't quite leadership but "Profiles In Courage" by JFK fits the bill in my opinion. It's about lawmakers doing the right thing instead of voting along party lines.

"In the Company of Heroes" by Michael Durant is a good read as well. Learning about his time in captivity was enlightening but I really enjoyed the whole book. I didn't quite understand why he chose that title until I got closer to the end. He used his platform to not only talk about his time there but also about the guys in his unit that died that day. Through that book you can draw out some lessons on how to lead people and some positive traits.

Amazon links:

http://www.amazon.com/Worked-Me-Life-Leadership/dp/0062135139/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1462164926&sr=1-1&keywords=it+worked+for+me

http://www.amazon.com/Leading-Honor-Leadership-Lessons-Hilton/dp/098387932X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1462164899&sr=1-1&keywords=leading+with+honor

http://www.amazon.com/Generating-Buy--Mastering-Language-Leadership/dp/0814409059/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1462164874&sr=1-1&keywords=generating+buy+in

http://www.amazon.com/Profiles-Courage-John-F-Kennedy/dp/0060854936/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1462164840&sr=1-1&keywords=profiles+in+courage

http://www.amazon.com/Company-Heroes-Michael-J-Durant/dp/0451219937

Check this out, seems good: http://www.academia.edu/download/28809484/aeq.2001.32.3.350.pdf

Wikipedia can lead to other great resources while giving a solid foundation; check these:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madrasa

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ijazah

This book is written by an incredibly credible scholar of today, about one of the most important scholars of Islam:

https://www.amazon.com/Abu-Hanifah-Legal-Method-Legacy-ebook/dp/B00CGNQGAC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1486804011&sr=8-3&keywords=abu+hanifa

And from me:

Anywhere you look in the past, I think credentials as we know them today mattered very little. Most people lived in small, tightly knit communities; everyone knew that the local blacksmith was great at making swords, but not as skillful at small things like fixing key or whatever.

People would know their fellow people, because population was so low. For example, they would know that town's baker makes delicious croissants, but his cakes are rather plain. If someone foreign came to the town, he would have to earn the trust of the people, maybe 'testimonials' from someone qualified of the town.

Just some small thought, hope it helped :)

Your first part is spot-on, your second part is a bit off. The depiction of Saladin in the film is extremely positive because Crusaders had a very positive impression of him for a variety of reasons, putting him into chivalric model they viewed themselves in because Saladin was, by all of the information available on him, an extremely shrewd political mind. Saladin worked to secure a number of treaties with Crusader states that made them quite pleased, which is part of the reason they looked at him so positively.

The chivalric depiction was picked up on by historians like H.A.R. Gibb who, like a great many in the west, really bought into this romantic view of him. While there are sources that aggrandize him into this figure, one must consider where they come from: Baha al-Din's "The Rare and Excellent History of Saladin" comes from an author within the retinue of Saladin who was patronized by him. What do you really expect him to say in such a source?

There are sources to the contrary, though, namely Ibn al-Athir al-Kamil fi’l-ta’rikh which present the opposite side, patronized by a Muslim enemy of Saladin that presents the opposite extreme.

As proves often to be the case, the truth is likely found somewhere in between.

>Cetnik nazis?, now you really continue to make a history in your head

yes nazi collaboration is part of your glorious history, i dont see why your claiming to fight with nazi's when your grandparents where quite friendly with one another I present another wikipeadia link simply because its the easiest to find. I also do it because unlike you I prefer to provide evidence to my claims rather then some mythical 'knowledge' you pretend to have simply through being a serb.

On a historical note the british clandestinely supplied arms to the cetniks until 1942 when they discovered the extent of their collaboration and switched to supporting the partizans. Imagine that, the british switching support from monarchists to communists. This is a good time to plug the greatest book ever written. Its by a british general who was sent as a liason to Tito during the partizan war.

>Do you know something about Ustase and muslim mujehedins ? I guess you don't..

You guessed wrong. All three of you collaborated with the germans. If its any consolation the cetniks where not as bad as the ustase.

What if Gaddafi was CIA agent much like his counter part Saddam? If he had that gull to enlighten himself to show the protcols, he must have known Saddam was placed by CIA. Who owns that establishment and has ran it for the longest period? Right-Wing.

So if he is making all these moves and acting out of character, who is to say he was disobey direct orders that ended with his own life. He wasn't killed because he was keeping the peace and doing right by his people but rather because he was doing too much. Starting another form of currency that could actually rival the dollar, which is owned by the federal reserve?

Basically biting the hand that gave him the position he is in now. What if it's even bigger? What if his death was a swear in for others? What if by doing this one thing, it was made to look as if another group was on board for another agenda. Even if they knew it would be wrong, it would be better to do this one thing and become "trusted" then say no.

These are all questions we will ask for a long time but there is something very off about it, I do agree just thought I'd get some questions out there.

I've read comments about him being good, I've seen the videos but than again if I go to north Korea and ask if Kimmy is a god, they probably say yes.

I've also seen comments like go read http://www.amazon.com/Gaddafis-Harem-Story-Young-Abuses-ebook/dp/B00CIWZ7TW

This is what propaganda does to us, makes you have to find out what you believe is true.

I don't know but republicans have pissed me off enough to say fack them LOL

Happy Odyssey Autobiography of Adrian Carton de Wiart. As an Amazon review puts it: "He had only one hand, only one eye, and surprisingly only one Victoria Cross." A great read.


Alan Turing: The Enigma Biography, not autobiography, but a great life.


A Sort of Life Graham Greene's early life. A great writer and a great read.

I'm a taxidermist, and we all wish Akeley were more well known. For one, he produced some of the very best taxidermy that was ever performed. Trained as a sculptor, his animals are lifelike in a way that is difficult to describe except by contrast with other work. Visit the American Museum of Natural History in NYC and compare his African mounts to your average deer head. He understood animals and their place in an ecosystem and could render that beautifully.

His conservation work is also one of his longest-lasting contributions. It's no real exaggeration to suggest that without Akeley there would not be living mountain gorillas in the world.

Kingdom Under Glass is a great book about him.

I can strongly recommend 'The Masked Rider' ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Masked_Rider:_Cycling_in_West_Africa ), which is a fanstastic travellog of touring Cameroon on a bicycle.

Another great read is 'The Timbuktu School for Nomads' ( https://www.amazon.com/Timbuktu-School-Nomads-Across-Sahara-ebook/dp/B01HZFB8TE ) which chronicles the time spent living amongst the nomadic tribes of Saharan Africa, post 2001.

Also 'Facing the Congo' ( https://www.amazon.com/Facing-Congo-Jeffrey-Tayler/dp/1886913447 ) is pretty good.

Finally a question about West Africa. My answer will mostly be centered around the Mali Empire.

Now, in 1444 the Portuguese arrived on the Senegambia coast and began slave raids on the coastline, the people of Mali where surprised by the European's Caravel vessels and the white skin of the sailors within them. Now between 1444 and 1456 small naval scrimmages took place between the Mali Empire and Portuguese until, in 1456, the Portuguese sent coutier Diogo Gomes to establish peace with the Mali Empire, and by 1462 peace was established and Portugal switched its intent in Senegambia to trade rather than conquest. This was when the first real knowledge West African rulers had of Europe began.

Keep in mind the Mali empire had no written text, so there is no direct source to say "the west africans knew of the Europeans.". But we can do some estimation on the matter. Mansa Musa, famous ruler of Mali took his pilgrimage to Mecca (The Mali Empire is primarily islamic) so they know the teachings of the Quran and in turn know quite a bit about the middle eastern regions. Simply because it is unknown if the Mali people knew of Europe, it is safe to say the Europeans knew of the Mali Empire.

In 1375 the Catalan atlas was released, stemming from Catalonia it was made by a Jewish book illuminator, Cresques Abraham, who was self described as "The master of the world as well as compasses". All of this seems fairly useless until you realize that in the Catalan Atlas, their is depictions of Mansa Musa on his holy pilgrimage to Mecca and much of the West African coast charted and identified.

Another source is Ibn Battuta, a Moroccan explorer, who arrived in Mali in 1351 after his extensive travels to as far as China. Before his trip to Mali he traveled on the North African coast and took detours to Sardinia and Moor controlled regions of the southern Iberian Peninsula. Though I have not read the Rhila (Ibn Battuta's book telling the story of his travels), and do not know whether it says this but it is safe to assume he shared some of his knowledge with the people of the Mali Empire and of his time in Europe.

Another thing that could point to knowledge of Europe by West African rulers is the fact that the Mali empire is a key part on the Saharan trade route spanning from West Africa, to North Africa, The Levant and, you guessed it, Europe. It is likely European goods, news and knowledge spread from trade along this route and allowed West African rulers some insight into the happenings, and knowledge of Europe. Likely the same way knowledge of Mansa Musa made it's way onto the Catalan Atlas.

So overall, it is quite likely there was knowledge of Europe by West African rulers, what that knowledge is is unknown (because they had no written texts) but the fact that there was knowledge of Europe is a fairly clear "Yes, West African rulers had, though limited, some amount of knowledge on Europe"

Outside of the Mali Empire is a bit iffy. the Berbers of Morocco definitely had extensive knowledge of Europe, but if you go south of the Niger river it is possible the knowledge only came from the few sailors who dared go down there, and those where few and far between.

---

Sources:

[The Royal Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali and Songhay: Life in Medieval Africa | by Patricia McKissack and Fredrick McKissack] (http://www.amazon.com/Royal-Kingdoms-Ghana-Mali-Songhay/dp/0805042598/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1414292037&sr=1-1&keywords=Mali+%28Empire%29)

Mansa Musa and the Empire of Mali | by P. James Oliver

• Another America: The Story of Liberia and the Former Slaves Who Ruled It - Provides a great introduction/overview of Liberian history, with fascinating backstories.
  
  • https://www.amazon.com/Another-America-Liberia-Former-Slaves/dp/0809095424/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
    
• The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood by Helene Cooper(a famous Americo Liberian who lived and grew up in Liberia while it was at its peak (1960s,1970s) This is her story of her memories of Liberia(good and bad) and what she experienced before, during, and after the coup. She is now a reporter for the New York Times.
  
  • https://www.amazon.com/House-Sugar-Beach-African-Childhood/dp/0743266250/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1549376247&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=house+on+sugar+hill+helene
    
    I am currently reading :
    
    
• Madame President: The Extraordinary Journey of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (also written by Helene Cooper) - Book gives more background on Liberia with a focus on the former President's life.
  
  • https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1451697368/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1
    
    I am a new moderator at r/Liberia and recently revamped it, so feel free to stop there as well as I like to post interesting news and videos about Liberia both past and present.

Two good reads on him رحمه الله:

Commander of the Faithful: The Life and Times of Emir Abd el-Kader: A Story of True Jihad https://www.amazon.com/dp/1901383318/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_AyL9AbX0W6NAQ

Emir Abd el-Kader: Hero and Saint of Islam (Perennial Philosophy) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1936597179/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_GAL9AbPB2RV73

Thomas Sankara: An African Revolutionary is pretty good and I haven't read it myself but Thomas Sankara Speaks: The Burkina Faso Revolution 1983–87 sounds pretty good.

Yes, 32 battalion was mixed. You should read My Friend the Mercenary it gives some good personal insights into 32 Battalion from the perspective of Nick du Toit. And a very interesting read too.

Bill Burns has a new one out that is excellent. https://www.amazon.com/Back-Channel-American-Diplomacy-Renewal/dp/0525508864/

​

Prudence Bushnell's book is also excellent. https://www.amazon.com/Terrorism-Betrayal-Resilience-Embassy-Bombings/dp/1640121013/

​

Not a career FSO, but I also really liked Wendy Sherman's book. https://www.amazon.com/Not-Faint-Heart-Lessons-Persistence/dp/156858816X/

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


amazon.com

amazon.co.uk

amazon.ca

amazon.com.au

amazon.in

amazon.com.mx

amazon.de

amazon.it

amazon.es

amazon.com.br

amazon.nl

amazon.co.jp

amazon.fr

Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, amazon.nl, amazon.co.jp, amazon.fr, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.

Here's an autobiography of a nobel prize winner from Liberia and her work against the Liberian government etc.

http://www.amazon.com/Mighty-Be-Our-Powers-Sisterhood/dp/0984295194

Inside Delta Force

If You Survive

Helmet for My Pillow

In the Company of Heroes

If you like Clancy, I highly recommend the entire John Ryan series, starting with Without Remorse and moving in chronoligical (which differs from publication) order.

I just finished the book by John Kiser called Commander Of The Faithful - The Life And Times Of Emir Abd el-Kader


I would highly recommend it for anyone looking to understand Islam, and anyone interested in seeing what a refined soul looks like in the real world of battle. It's very easy to talk about spirituality and these seemingly higher and impressive sounding ideas and notions, but the reality of them is made known in the theater of battle where one often has to choose between the salvation of one's soul or the salvation of one's body, although not mutually exclusive, to the limited eye it can appear that way. And this is where tawakkul really manifests.


He was a man, that through his Prophetic character, seduced all of Europe, particularly the French, who he once fought against for over 15 years. Later on when he was imprisoned, it was his former opponents on the battlefield that became his most ardent defenders. Another excellent feature of the book is the intimate sources used because they highlight on a very personal level the colonization of Algeria. We're used to reading about colonization and imperialism on a very high, almost machine like, level. But this book really goes into the personal human dimension of it where you get to see what many among the French thought and believed, and what many among the Algerians thought and believed. It was very eye opening and reveals that, as all human matters are, not black and white.

The book always depressed me. because I'd put it down and at point and say, "What the hell, have I done with my life?"

But yes, I agree the best. You could make a Movie just about the sneaking into Spain part. My copy is falling apart as to the times I've loaned it out.

Though the beginning is a hard hard to read, Id recommend another bio of a remarkable man Fitzroy Maclean

Thomas Sankara - African Revolutionary is probably your best bet. It delves just as much into his government as it does his own personal story, which is kind of inevitable considering how intertwined both stories are.

Quite positive, he had good environmental policies, increased women's rights, built a system of community self-organization via the CDRs, hospitals, schools etc. were built all over the country and they had lots of public works projects, he fought against reactionary practises and powers exercised by tribal leaders, fought imperialism, established land reform, nationalized industries, literacy and vaccination cmapaigns and encouraged co-operatives. he was by no means the perfect Socialist revolutionary but he didn't seek any sort of cult of personality improved people's lives in various ways and did this under incredibly harsh conditions. A book abut him i would sugest is Thomas Sankara: An African Revolutionary by Ernest Harsch.

Here's a link for his Autobiography, apparently a VERY good read.

I can't believe how cheaply one can learn and gain knowledge today alhamdulillah.

Even though the mention of Mohammad Shamil is small, it intrigued me enough to go buy a book on his life. There wasn't much material there so lets see how that book turns out.

His autobiography is a really interesting read.


http://www.amazon.com/HAPPY-ODYSSEY-Adrian-Carton-Wiart/dp/1844155390

Fireforce by Chris Cocks is a good read.

For a close-in story, try Killing Rommel by Pressfield or Eastern Approaches by Maclean. I suggest Pressfield, he's a better writer.

> Black Hawk Down

I've got the book sitting on my shelf.

he has an autobiography.

http://www.amazon.com/HAPPY-ODYSSEY-Adrian-Carton-Wiart/dp/1844155390/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380890759&sr=8-1&keywords=Adrian+Carton+de+Wiart

Some books:

Mansa Musa and the Empire of Mali: http://www.amazon.com/Mansa-Musa-Empire-James-Oliver/dp/146805354X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422187789&sr=1-1&keywords=Mali+Empire

Ancient West African Kingdoms: Ghana, Mali, & Songhai: http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-West-African-Kingdoms-Understanding/dp/1403400989/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422187789&sr=1-4&keywords=Mali+Empire

His autobiography

https://www.amazon.com/Happy-Odyssey-Adrian-Carton-Wiart/dp/1844155390

Another America: The Story of Liberia and the Former Slaves Who Ruled It

The Liberia Travel Guide 2016 - Kindle only

Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War

You should also post this message at The Liberia Subreddit

Or the dead. Watching Black Hawk Down makes me cry every time I see Gordon and Shughart, especially having read Durant's account.

Adrian Carton de Wiart

> Lieutenant General Sir Adrian Paul Ghislain Carton de Wiart... was a British Army officer... He served in the Boer War, First World War, and Second World War. He was shot in the face, head, stomach, ankle, leg, hip, and ear; survived two plane crashes; tunnelled out of a prisoner-of-war camp; and tore off his own fingers when a doctor refused to amputate them. Describing his experiences in the First World War, he wrote, "Frankly I had enjoyed the war."

His memoirs