African History Booklist

World History > African History

Book recommendations pertaining to African History.

Ancient Africa | Medieval Africa | Modern Africa

See Also:

• African American History

The history of Africa begins with the emergence of hominids, archaic humans and—at least 200,000 years ago—anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens), in East Africa, and continues unbroken into the present as a patchwork of diverse and politically developing nation states. The earliest known recorded history arose in Ancient Egypt, and later in Nubia, the Sahel, the Maghreb and the Horn of Africa.

Ancient Africa (200,000 BCE - 399 CE)

See Also: Ancient Egypt

Book Title	Author	PubDate	Reading Age	Time Period	Time Frame	Geographic Area	Country	Topic	Genre	Format
When We Became Humans	Bright, Michael	2019	LE MG	Prehistory	5,000,000-250,000 BCE	Africa	Various	Early Man Evolution	NF	PB
The Kin	Dickinson, Peter	1998	MG YA	Prehistory	200,000 BCE	Africa	Various	Stone Age Ancient Africa	F	N

Modern Africa (1400-Present)

Book Title	Author	PubDate	Reading Age	Time Period	Time Frame	Geographic Area	Country	Topic	Genre	Format
Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts	Hall, Rebecca	2022	YA A	Age of Revolutions	1708-2002	Africa North America	United States	Racism Atlantic Slave Trade Slave Revolts	NF	GN
Homegoing	Gyasi, Yaa	2016	YA A	Age of Revolutions	1775-2016	Africa North America	United States	Racism African American History Atlantic Slave Trade Great Migration Civil Rights	F OV	N
Leopold II: Butcher of the Congo	Olson, Tod	2008	YA UMG	Age of Revolutions	1835-1909	Africa	Belgium Congo	Congo Free State Leopold II	NF Bio	CB
The Mirror at Midnight: A South African Journey	Hochschild, Adam	2007	YA A	Age of Revolutions	1836–1839	Africa	South Africa	Colonial Africa	NF	N
Abina and the Important Men: A Graphic History	Getz, Trevor R.	2016	YA A	Industrial Age	1876	Gold Coast	Ghana	Slavery	NF Bio	GN
What the River Knows	Ibañez, Isabel	2023	YA A	Industrial Age	1880	Africa	Egypt	Egyptology Archaeology Cleopatra	HF	N
King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa	Hochschild, Adam	1999	YA A	Industrial Age	1885-1908	Africa	Belgium Congo	Congo Free State Leopold II	NF Bio	N
Black Dove White Raven	Wein, Elizabeth	2015	YA A	Modern Age	1930-1936	Africa North America	Ethiopia	Italo-Ethiopian War African History	F	N
Idi Amin (A Wicked History 20th Century)	Dougherty, Steve	2010	UMG YA	Modern Age	1946-2003	Africa	Uganda	Ugandan Army	NF Bio	CB
Orange for the Sunsets	Athaide, Tina	2020	MG UMG	Modern Age	1972	Africa	Uganda	Immigration	F	N
First They Killed My Father	Ung, Loung	1999	YA A	Modern Age	1975-1979	Africa	Cambodia	Cambodian Genocide	NF Bio	B
Mama Miti: Wangari Maathai and the Trees of Kenya	Napoli, Donna Jo	2010	LE	Modern Age	1977	Africa	Kenya	Environment	F	PB
Journey To Jo'Burg: A South African Story	Naidoo, Beverley	1985	MG	Modern Age	1980	Africa	South Africa	Apartheid	F	CB
Nya's Long Walk: A Step at a Time	Park, Linda Sue	2019	LE	Modern Age	1985-2009	Africa	Sudan	Sudanese Civil War	F	PB
A Long Walk To Water	Park, Linda Sue	2011	MG UMG	Modern Age	1985-2009	Africa	Sudan	Sudanese Civil War	F	CB
We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families	Gourevitch, Philip	1999	YA A	Modern Age	1994	Africa	Rwanda	Rwandan Genocide	NF	B
Broken Memory: A Novel of Rwanda	Combres, Elisabeth	2011	UMG	Modern Age	1994	Africa	Rwanda	Rwandan Genocide	F	N
Machete Season: The Killers in Rwanda Speak	Hatzfeld, Jean	2006	A	Modern Age	1994	Africa	Rwanda	Rwandan Genocide	NF	B
Life Laid Bare: The Survivors in Rwanda Speak	Hatzfeld, Jean	2007	A	Modern Age	1994	Africa	Rwanda	Rwandan Genocide	NF	B
Bill and Pete go Down the Nile	DePaola, Tomie	1987	LE	Early Civilization	1987	Africa	Egypt	Ancient Egypt	F HF	PB
When Stars Are Scattered	Jamieson, Victoria Mohamed, Omar	2020	UMG	Modern Age	1996-2011	Africa	Somalia Kenya	Somalian Civil War Kenyan Refugee Camp	NF Bio OV	GN
Africa Is Not a Country	Knight, Margy Burns	2002	LE	Modern Age	2000	Africa	Various	African Continent	NF	PB
The Antelope's Strategy: Living in Rwanda After the Genocide	Hatzfeld, Jean	2010	A	Modern Age	2003	Africa	Rwanda	Rwandan Genocide	NF	B
The Red Pencil	Davis Pinkney, Andrea	2015	MG UMG	Modern Age	2003-2011	Africa	Sudan	Sudanese Refugees	F	N
Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree	Nwaubani, Adaobi Tricia	2020	YA A	Modern Age	2014	Africa	Nigeria	Boko Haram	F	N

Disclosure: History Book By Book is reader-supported. When you buy books we recommend using Amazon or Bookshop links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission (at no additional cost to you).

List of abbreviations:

Reading Age	Genre	Format
LE = lower elementary MG = middle grade (8-12 yrs.) UMG = upper-middle grade (11-14 yrs.) YA = young adult (14+) A = adult (18+)	NF - non fiction F = fiction Bio = biography HF = historical fantasy AH = alternate history OV - own voices M = mythology S = spine book	PB = picture book GN = graphic novel ER = early reader CB = chapter book B = book (NF) N = novel M = memoir