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90 & Grateful: An Autobiography (Hardcover)
The author of this fine autobiography, Mrs Lucy Effah, a nonagenarian who has shown that it is never too late for any personal endeavour once you set your mind to it. Born a royal of Asante Bekwai, she grew up to become a top nurse-midwife professional in the pre and immediate post independent eras of Ghana. Her life has demonstrated a genetic leadership trait inherent in her character. She exemplified such faith and commitment that may be compared to the dedication of globally acknowledged and timeless personalities like Florence Nightingale, Mother Teresa and Mary Seacole.
The book includes many glowing tributes – including a Foreword from the former President of Ghana, His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor attributing her trailblazing qualities in nursing education to her leadership qualities. The former President said she has always had an aura of care and compassion about her in both her public and private life. In this respect, she has made immense contributions to the process of transformation in Ghana.
₵200.00 -
SeedTime: Selected Poems I
In memory of all the Ancestral Voices who prepared the field for our SeedTime…
SeedTime I brings together Selected Poems from Kofi Anyidoho’s first five collections, beginning in reverse order with poems from AncestralLogic & CaribbeanBlues (1993), A Harvest of Our Dreams (1984), EarthChild (1985), Elegy for the Revolution (1978), and BrainSurgery (1985). BrainSurgery, the earliest of these collections, was never published as a collection until it came out together with EarthChild (Woeli Publishing Services, 1985), even though several of the poems had appeared in various journals, magazines and anthologies.
SeedTime: Selected Poems I is a backward glance to those magical years of birth waters flowing across a landscape filled at once with danger and hope, with dying and rebirth in the mystery and miracle of new beginnings so soon after countless brushfires. But the doubt returns again so close behind the hope as we offer trembling prayers in new poems from an old loom: See What They’ve Done To Our SunRise. Yet, somehow, we must open our minds and souls to the Forever Promise of New SeedTimes. This world cannot, must not crumble under our watch.
“Quintessential Anyidoho…a harvest of the master craftman’s gems across time and space. SeedTime brings a refreshing newness to old songs, and, for new ones, a touch of creative genius we have come to associate with the poet’s pedigree; a timeless legacy of a poet-laureate, whose voice waxes even stronger in his twilight years.” − Mawuli Adjei, author, poet and literary scholar
“A collection of haunting poems in which we SEE the turbulent variety of our history, and HEAR the English language teased to express the many rhythms of the African’s eternal homesickness.” − Prof. A. N. Mensah, Department of English, University of Ghana
₵100.00SeedTime: Selected Poems I
₵100.00 -
Leadership: Theory, Practice and Cases
Leadership is the most important ingredient of success in Human Endeavour.
The changes we see and experience in societies and organisations around the world lead to new and different paradigms that necessitate different and appropriate responses. These lead directly into the realm of how we come to think about leadership. In short, we cannot see leadership competence and its practice in the same way as societies and organisations evolve. Those who take leadership positions and duties must be willing to explore and create new ways of thinking and interacting with those they lead and continue to lead.
To this end, this book is written for leaders and aspiring leaders who want to learn or enhance their leadership competence and confidence. Whether you are in government or in a non-profit or private sector business, the leadership framework and knowledge covered here constitute a theoretical and practical enough help for you to create societal and organisational growth and change.
“Wisdom on leadership from a distinguished practitioner, with advice for leaders and students alike. ” — Emeritus Professor Tudor Richards, Formerly Professor of Creativity and Organisational Change, Alliance Manchester Business School
Price range: ₵350.00 through ₵450.00Leadership: Theory, Practice and Cases
Price range: ₵350.00 through ₵450.00 -
Leadership in Africa Redefined – Untold Stories
The story on leadership in Africa is not a good one. It is a story in which the key actors are often corrupt, authoritarian politicians. And yet, this is only one side of the story.
The untold story is that Africa is also home to leaders who are imaginative, adaptable, ethical, and empowering. These are leaders who are transforming the spaces they serve on this continent. They are redefining leadership in Africa.
The time has come where we need to stop defining our leadership by the worst of us. We need to learn from the best of us.
Taaka Awori’s Leadership in Africa Redefined offers concrete principles to guide the practice of this form of leadership. Using the stories and lessons from outstanding leaders on the continent, Taaka Awori illustrates the idea that your leadership reflects who you are as a person. Her hope is that this book will be an inspiration and a practical guide to support each reader in becoming the leader Africa needs and deserves.
₵75.00 -
Augustine Kwasiga Younge: The Great Musician, Composer, Educator, Scouter and Counselor — The Pioneer in Revitalization and Africanization of the Catholic Liturgy and Mass in Ghana (Pre-Order)
**Available from 20 June 2022
When the Catholic Church realized the itching urge to inject more African Culture in her Christian worship to revitalize the Liturgy and Mass in the 1960s, Mr. A.K. Younge, alias “Master Younge,” in a solo effort revolutionized the Roman Catholic Church musical scene by initially replacing the “Old Latin Hymns” with traditional tunes accompanied by African musical instruments. As his determination persisted, he found himself in the greatest imbroglio as some church elders and musicians cast insinuations for what they believed to be anti-Christ (Catholic). With much encouragement from his dear wife Catherine Afiwor Younge and full support by the Papal See in Rome, Master Younge delved deeper. He came out with many compositions and innovations that provided the foundation that seemed to meet the aspirations and expectations of the awakened African Catholicism in Ghana and the Keta Diocese.
If traditional African drums, bells, and rattles are heard in Catholic churches today in Ghana, we must, with all certainty and reverence, remember the efforts of Master Younge. He made it happen. His Era’s selected contemporaries also covered include: Adalbert Kodjo Mensah Tibu, Philip Gbeho, Emmanuel Gakpo Gadzekpo, Togbe Afiatsoa II: Mr. George Kwame Akordor, and Cornelius Kofi Doe-Williams (alias CK).
₵150.00₵200.00 -
From Dar es Salaam to Bongoland: Urban Mutations in Tanzania
The name Dar es Salaam comes from the Arabic phrase meaning house of peace. A popular but erroneous translation is ‘haven of peace’ resulting from a mix-up of the Arabic words “dar” (house) and “bandar” (harbour). Named in 1867 by the Sultan of Zanzibar, the town has for a long time benefitted from a reputation of being a place of tranquility. The tropical drowsiness is a comfort to the socialist poverty and under-equipment that causes an unending anxiety to reign over the town. Today, for the Tanzanian, the town has become Bongoland, that is, a place where survival is a matter of cunning and intelligence (bongo means ‘brain’ in Kiswahili). Far from being an anecdote, this slide into toponomy records the mutations that affect the links that Tanzanians maintain with their principal city and the manner in which it represents them.
This book takes into account the changes by departing from the hypothesis that they reveal a process of territorialisation. What are the processes – envisaged as spatial investments – which, by producing exclusivity, demarcations and exclusions, fragment the urban space and its social fabric? Do the practices and discussions of the urban dwellers construct limited spaces, appropriated, identified and managed by communities (in other words, territories)? Dar es Salaam is often described as a diversified, relatively homogenous and integrating place. However, is it not more appropriate to describe it as fragmented?
As territorialisation can only occur through frequenting, management and localised investment, it is therefore through certain places – first shelter and residential area, then the school, daladala station, the fire hydrant and the quays – that the town is observed. This led to broach the question in the geographical sense of urban policy carried out since German colonisation to date. At the same time, the analysis of these developments allows for an evaluation of the role of the urban crisis and the responses it brings.
In sum, the aim of this approach is to measure the impact of the uniqueness of the place on the current changes. On one hand, this is linked to its long-term insertion in the Swahili civilisation, and on the other, to its colonisation by Germany and later Britain and finally, to the singularity of the post-colonial path. This latter is marked by an alternation of Ujamaa with Structural Adjustment Plans applied since 1987. How does this remarkable political culture take part in the emerging city today?
This book is a translation of De Dar es Salaam à Bongoland: Mutations urbaines en Tanzanie, published by Karthala, Paris in 2006.
₵130.00 -
The GIMPA Story: Transforming a Public Service Training School into a Self-Financing University of Leadership, Management, and Administration in Ghana
Driven by the passion of his vision agenda for the cause of his appointment as Director-General of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, GIMPA, from 1st January 2000 to December 2008, Stephen Adei (now Professor Emeritus), the first Rector of GIMPA, set out to do the seemingly impossible in the rough terrain of a predominantly patrimonial and static Ghanaian society.
With the encouragement of his first Council and despite fierce resistance to his vision and tenure from intransigent and powerful forces from within the Institute, a section of the media and political bigwigs, Stephen championed his vision cause with the unalloyed support of a loyal few from GIMPA, and importantly, with the support of his dear wife, and friend, Mrs. Georgina Adei, his steadfast faith in the Lord Jesus, the Bible-centered values and principles.
From January 2000 to December 2008, Stephen with his team chalked an enviable vision of success in transforming a public service training institution into a self-financing public university and a centre of excellence in leadership, management, and administration in Ghana.
In this revealing book, he evokes memories of that hard road to vision success, imparts valuable leadership lessons, and, importantly, shares this experience as “a testimony of what the Lord Jesus Christ…can do with His feeble servants.”
₵250.00 -
Accra Aca Blɛoo: The History of the Accra Academy from James Town to Bubiashie (Hardcover)
Accra Aca Bleoo – the first comprehensive history book on the Accra Academy – captures nine decades of the school’s history, including the most epic events and pivotal moments. It takes the reader through the life journeys of the founders and those who believed in their dream to educate the underprivileged youth of the Gold Coast. It also recounts the aspirations and achievements of successive administrations of the school and how they overcame the challenges of their time and influenced the character of their students.
The book brings to light several unknown facts about the Accra Academy and examines the educational policies that have influenced its development and growth.
It is not only informative and educative but also entertaining, as it is interspersed with interesting stories and several pictures that will undoubtedly take the minds of alumni back to the good old days and give other readers a perspective into how life in the school has evolved.
This book is the outcome of many hours of personal interviews and research, and is intended for anyone interested in the history of education in Ghana and what has made the Accra Academy what it is today.
₵200.00 -
Recalling a Life of Service: An Autobiography
Not many people are aware of the academic and administrative activities that go on in making high institutions such as universities work. Lucidly narrated in this valuable book is a true account of how Joseph Atsu Ayee, from humble beginnings in Keta, in the Volta region of Ghana, rose through the University of Ghana as Lecturer and climbed up the academic ladder as Professor, the Head of the Department of Political Science and Dean of the Faculty of Social Studies of the University of Ghana, to the high posts of Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in South Africa and Rector, MountCrest University College, Accra, Ghana. His hard work and perseverance in spite of the odds enabled him to climb up the administrative ladder very fast. His personal account is illuminating and inspiring. This valuable book contains insights into academia – a closed community, which is often shuttered from public view.
University administrators, policy makers, researchers and the curious general reader would find this riveting autobiography very illuminating and invaluable.
₵100.00 -
Oxford Street, Accra: City Life and the Itineraries of Transnationalism
In Oxford Street, Accra, Ato Quayson analyzes the dynamics of Ghana’s capital city through a focus on Oxford Street, part of Accra’s most vibrant and globalized commercial district. He traces the city’s evolution from its settlement in the mid-seventeenth century to the present day. He combines his impressions of the sights, sounds, interactions, and distribution of space with broader dynamics, including the histories of colonial and postcolonial town planning and the marks of transnationalism evident in Accra’s salsa scene, gym culture, and commercial billboards.
Quayson finds that the various planning systems that have shaped the city—and had their stratifying effects intensified by the IMF-mandated structural adjustment programs of the late 1980s—prepared the way for the early-1990s transformation of a largely residential neighborhood into a kinetic shopping district. With an intense commercialism overlying, or coexisting with, stark economic inequalities, Oxford Street is a microcosm of historical and urban processes that have made Accra the variegated and contradictory metropolis that it is today.
“Oxford Street, Accra offers a fresh portrait of a rising African metropolis by one of the most original and skilled critics of the African condition. Deeply researched and packed with detail and bold in scope and analysis, Oxford Street, Accra is a unique addition to the growing body of work on contemporary African Urbanism. This extraordinary book shows the extent to which the future of urban theory might well lie in the global South.” – Achille Mbembe, author of Critique de la raison négre.
KEY SELLING POINTS:
- Oxford Street, Accra is a must-buy as an invaluable companion and compass for both newcomers and returning visitors to Accra.
- Oxford Street, Accra was chosen as one of the ‘UK Guardian’s 10 Best City Books of the World in 2014.’
- Oxford Street, Accra was also the Co-Winner of ‘The Urban History Association’s Top Award in the International Category For Books Published About World Cities in 2013 – 2014.’
- Oxford Street, Accra contains an encyclopedic knowledge of the City of Accra, tracing the city’s evolution from its settlement in the mid-seventeenth century to the present day.
- The book offers a microcosm of historical and urban knowledge of the making of the city that have transformed Accra into the sophisticated metropolis that is it today.
₵160.00 -
King Alboury Cooks the Best Jollof (Africa’s Little Kings & Queens)
Age Range: 3 – 8 years
A must-have for every child’s library. Loved by children around the world and teaches them the importance of kindness and community.
King Alboury Cooks the Best Jollof is a fictional story inspired by King Alboury Ndiaye, the last King of the Jollof Kingdom in Senegal. A must-have for every child’s library.
In this story, King Alboury loves to cook and his favourite meal to make is his famous jollof rice. His ancestors invented the recipe, and so he is the only one who knows the secret. However, King Alboury has a problem, his troublesome neighbours, the Chuchus people. Every time the King cooks his special Jollof rice, their tummies start to rumble so loud that they become jealous. Rumour has it that they are plotting against the Jollof Kingdom, but don’t worry, King Alboury has a plan!
₵55.00 -
Beyond the Political Spider: Critical Issues in African Humanities (African Humanities Series)
Beyond the Political Spider: Critical Issues in African Humanities by Kwesi Yankah is the first title in the newly established African Humanities Association (AHA) publication series.
By integrating his own biography into a critique of the global politics of knowledge production, Yankah, through a collection of essays, interrogates critical issues confronting the Humanities that spawn intellectual hegemonies and muffle African voices. Using the example of Ghana, he brings under scrutiny, amongst others, endemic issues of academic freedom, gender inequities, the unequal global academic order, and linguistic imperialism in language policies in governance.
In the face of these challenges, the author deftly navigates the complex terrain of indigenous knowledge and language in the context of democratic politics, demonstrating that agency can be liberatory when emphasising indigenous knowledge, especially expressed through the idiom of local languages and symbols, including Ananse, the protean spider, folk hero in Ghana and most parts of the pan-African world.
“Fascinating snapshots from an engaged scholarly life in Africa, valuable as an archival resource for the understanding of this period of higher education in Africa.” – John Higgins, Arderne Chair in Literature, Department of English Literary Studies, University of Cape Town
“This book is unique and gives a powerful rendition of the state of the Humanities in Africa (with Ghana as a case in point). It grapples with some of the pertinent issues dogging the Humanities in Africa. It comments on the Humanities scholarship in Africa, and subtly throws a challenge for future scholarship. It draws on African traditions, communal heritage, and governance in discussing the role and place of the Humanities in Africa. It also brings into the analysis the ever-changing imperatives and modernity in re-configuring African Humanities.” – Mark Benge Okot, Head of Department, Literature, Makerere University, Uganda
“Beyond the Political Spider’ effectively draws, in a unique fashion, from literature, history, linguistics and other cognate disciplines in the African Humanities.” – Sati Umaru Fwatshak, Department of History, University of Jos, Nigeria
₵340.00
