During the 1980s, the crisis grew worse. As a research fellow at St. Antony's College, Oxford, I sought deeper perspectives on Africa's malaise. I also spent much time observing South Africa's drift towards revolutionary violence spawned by the apartheid system. But while South Africa managed to escape the threat of revolution, transforming itself into a stable democracy, most of Africa has continued its tragic slide.

Now that fifty years have passed since the beginning of the independence era, it seemed to me that what was needed was a panoramic account of the fortunes of Africa, explaining what happened, and the sense of foreboding it arouses.