The Fortunes of Africa

Martin Meredith follows 5,000 years of the outsiders drawn to Africa's riches, from the age of the Pharaohs to the present. Gold, ivory and slaves lured merchant-adventurers and conquerors in earlier centuries, while oil, diamonds and other minerals draw attention now; land was a prize too, from the grain colonies that fed Rome to the vast tracts foreign corporations acquire today to secure food. Meredith charts how ancient kingdoms and empires rose and fell, how Christianity and Islam spread, the deeds of missionaries and explorers, and European colonization and its impact, and ends with modern African states and their prospects. His cast includes Mansa Musa, the medieval Mali ruler said to be the richest man who ever lived.

Africa.com chief executive Teresa Clarke was named as a reader of it in a What CEOs are reading feature.