My Country, Africa by Andre Blouin
Andrée Blouin-once called the most dangerous woman in Africa-played a leading role in the struggles for decolonization that shook the continent in the 1950s and '60s, advising the postcolonial leaders of Algeria, both Congos, Ivory Coast, Mali, Guinea, and Ghana.In this autobiography, Blouin retraces her remarkable journey as an African revolutionary. Born in French Equatorial Africa and abandoned at the age of three, she endured years of neglect and abuse in a colonial orphanage, which she escaped after being forced by nuns into an arranged marriage at fifteen. She later became radicalized by the death of her two-year-old son, who was denied malaria medication by French officials because he was one-quarter African.
In Guinea, where Blouin was active in Sékou Touré's campaign for independence, she came into contact with leaders of the liberation movement in the Belgian Congo. Blouin witnessed the Congolese tragedy up close as an adviser to Patrice Lumumba, whose arrest and assassination she narrates in unforgettable detail.
Blouin offers a sweeping survey of pan-African nationalism, capturing the intricacies of revolutionary diplomacy, comradeship, and betrayal. Alongside intimate portraits of the movement's leaders, Blouin provides insights into the often-overlooked contribution of African women in the struggle for independence.
Embodying pan-Africanism, Blouin befriended, counseled or lobbied the first presidents or prime ministers of Algeria, both Congos, Ivory Coast, Mali, Guinea and Ghana-- Stuart A. Reid * New York Times *
An amazingly good and moving description of a childhood blighted by the horrors of colonialism, told by an extraordinary woman . Riveting. -- Jessica Mitford
A penetrating study of colonial society. -- Studs Terkel
Magnificent ... Illuminates our understanding of how the politics of a country shapes its people's lives. -- Tillie Olsen
Our enemies attack her all the time. Not for what she's done, but simply because she is a woman, and she is there, in the thick of it. -- Patrice Lumumba
An extraordinary and vital work by one of the towering figures of anticolonial resistance. That Andrée Blouin has not been as renowned as Lumumba, Sankara, Cabral, has always been a scandalous injustice. This new edition of her memoir goes some way to redressing that, and is a publishing and political event of immense importance. -- China Miéville, author of A Spectre, Haunting: On the Communist Manifesto
An amazingly good and moving description of a childhood blighted by the horrors of colonialism, told by an extraordinary woman . Riveting. -- Jessica Mitford
A penetrating study of colonial society. -- Studs Terkel
Magnificent ... Illuminates our understanding of how the politics of a country shapes its people's lives. -- Tillie Olsen
Our enemies attack her all the time. Not for what she's done, but simply because she is a woman, and she is there, in the thick of it. -- Patrice Lumumba
An extraordinary and vital work by one of the towering figures of anticolonial resistance. That Andrée Blouin has not been as renowned as Lumumba, Sankara, Cabral, has always been a scandalous injustice. This new edition of her memoir goes some way to redressing that, and is a publishing and political event of immense importance. -- China Miéville, author of A Spectre, Haunting: On the Communist Manifesto
Andrée Blouin was a central figure in the struggles for decolonization that swept Africa in the 1950s and 1960s. Her activism gave her a front-row seat to the triumph and tragedy of national liberation movements across the continent.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781839768712 |
| ISBN 10 | 1839768711 |
| Title | My Country, Africa |
| Author | Andrée Blouin |
| Series | Verso's Southern Questions |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Verso Books |
| Year published | 2025-01-07 |
| Number of pages | 304 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |