Africa is forever on our TV screens but the bad-news stories (famine genocide corruption) massively outweigh the good (South Africa). Ever since the process of de-colonialisation began in the mid-1950s & arguably before the continent has appeared to be stuck in a process of irreversible decline. Constant war improper use of natural resources & misappropriation of revenues & aid monies contribute to an impression of a continent beyond hope. How did we get here? What if anything is to be done? Fully revised & updated & weaving together the key stories & characters of the last sixty years into a stunningly compelling & coherent narrative Martin Meredith has produced the definitive history of how European ideas of how to organise 10 000 different ethnic groups has led to what Tony Blair described as the 'scar on the conscience of the world'. Authoritative provocative & consistently fascinating this is the updated edition of the seminal book on one of the most important issues facing the West today.