9780195170559
Home | Books | Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience (5 Volume Set)
Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience (5 Volume Set) share button
Kwame Anthony Appiah
Genre African Americans
Format Hardcover
Dimensions 12.20 (w) x 9.70 (h) x 9.40 (d)
Pages 3960
Publisher Oxford University Press, USA
Publication Date March 2005
ISBN 9780195170559
Book ISBN 10 0195170555
About Book

Ninety years after W.E.B. Du Bois first articulated the need for "the equivalent of a black Encyclopedia Britannica," Kwame Anthony Appiah and Henry Louis Gates Jr., realized his vision by publishing Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience in 1999.

This new, greatly expanded edition of the original work broadens the foundation provided by Africana. Including more than one million new words, Africana has been completely updated and revised. New entries on African kingdoms have been added, bibliographies now accompany most articles, and the encyclopedia's coverage of the African diaspora in Latin America and the Caribbean has been expanded, transforming the set into the most authoritative research and scholarly reference set on the African experience ever created.

More than 4,000 articles cover prominent individuals, events, trends, places, political movements, art forms, business and trade, religion, ethnic groups, organizations and countries on both sides of the Atlantic. African American history and culture in the present-day United States receive a strong emphasis, but African American history and culture throughout the rest of the Americas and their origins in African itself have an equally strong presence. The articles that make up Africana cover subjects ranging from affirmative action to zydeco and span over four million years from the earlies-known hominids , to Sean "Diddy" Combs. With entries ranging from the African ethnic groups to members of the Congressional Black Caucus, Africana, Second Edition, conveys the history and scope of cultural expression of people of African descent with unprecedented depth.

Reviews

Library Journal

An updated and revised version of the 1999 edition, this massive encyclopedia-inspired by W.E.B. Du Bois's century-old vision to publish a black Encyclopaedia Britannica-contains more than 1000 new entries and updates approximately a third of the previous ones, bringing the new total to over 4000. Accompanied by beautiful color photos and maps, the wide-ranging entries cover individuals, events, places, ethnic groups, organizations, movements, and countries from both the American and African continents and vary in length from a biographical paragraph to a 30-page expository on slavery and slave rebellions. It is a bit puzzling, however, why editors Appiah (Assertion and Conditionals) and Gates (America Behind the Color Line) chose to include entries on more than 50 animals ranging from the flamingo to the zebra. An inclusive subject bibliography, plentiful cross references, and a subject/name index make for useful additions to this superb set. Bottom Line While Gale's Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History provides more comprehensive U.S.-focused coverage, this more expansive resource deals with numerous topics about people of African descent throughout the world, from African American architects to Dominican-Haitian relations. Its exorbitant price, however, may restrict its purchase to major metropolitan public libraries and academic institutions.-Donald Altschiller, Boston Univ. Libs. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Recommended Books View All Books
Identities

Identities

Kwame Anthony Appiah
Africana: Civil Rights

Africana: Civil Rights

Kwame Anthony Appiah
Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience: The Concise Desk Reference

Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience: The Concise Desk Reference

Kwame Anthony Appiah
In My Father's House: Africa in the Philosophy of Culture

In My Father's House: Africa in the Philosophy of Culture

Kwame Anthony Appiah
Buying Freedom: The Ethics and Economics of Slave Redemption

Buying Freedom: The Ethics and Economics of Slave Redemption

Kwame Anthony Appiah
Thinking It through: An Introduction to Contemporary Philosophy

Thinking It through: An Introduction to Contemporary Philosophy

Kwame Anthony Appiah