Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War | 
pick“Without Africa, and the slave plantation agriculture of the Caribbean that derived from it, there would never have been the kind of explosion of wealth that the West enjoyed … nor such early or rapid industrialization.” And French retraces the pathways of the European countries rampaging through the African continent, meanwhile destroying already existing kingdoms. It is a devastating, but necessary overview over the slave trade.
One of the main points of this book is that the rise of modernity was built on Africa and Africans. A very serious, multi-faceted, and well-written argument, but I keep being reminded of the British Things song from Horrible Histories, which makes a sort-of similar basic point in a vastly different tone (and complexity level). But seriously, I am enjoying the book, earworms aside. https://youtu.be/sb56cMQEflA?si=YpzOCmbGrxceB6m0
pickExcellent history. Presents the new and the known in an exciting and illuminating way. French brings together various economic and historical strands to tell a far more comprehensive story of Africa and Africans in the creation of the modern world. A must read!
