The Scramble For Africa

Thomas Pakenham

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The Scramble for Africa astonished everyone.

In 1880 most of the continent was ruled by Africans, and barely explored. By 1902, five European Powers (and one extraordinary individual) had grabbed almost the whole continent, giving themselves 30 new colonies and protectorates and 10 million square miles of new territory, and 110 million bewildered new subjects. Thomas Pakenham's story of the conquest of Africa is recognised as one of the finest narrative histories of the last few decades.

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Praise for The Scramble For Africa

  • Vast, scholarly and delightful - SpectatorMagnificent, swashbuckling . . . epic - ObserverMasterly, full of pace and character - TLSOnce again Pakenham shows a dazzling, almost filmic ability to tell a good story - Independent on SundayPakenham tells the story with pace and compulsive readability . . . conceived on a grand scale with all the colour and control of a master artist - Evening Standard

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Thomas Pakenham

Thomas Pakenham

Thomas Pakenham is the author of the critically acclaimed The Scramble for Africa, which won the W. H. Smith Award and the Alan Paton Award. He is also the author of The Boer War, The Mountains of Rasselas, and The Company of Trees, among many other books. He lives in Ireland.

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