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African Visionaries
In over forty portraits, African writers present extraordinary people from their continent: portraits of the women and men whom they admire, people who have changed and enriched life in Africa. The portraits include inventor, founders of universities, resistance fighters, musicians, environmental activists or writers. African Visionaries is a multi-faceted book, seen through African eyes, on the most impactful people of Africa.
Some of the writers contributing to the collection are: Helon Habila, Virginia Phiri, Ellen Banda-Aaku, Véronique Tadjo, Tendai Huchu, Solomon Tsehaye, Patrice Nganang and Sami Tchak.
₵120.00African Visionaries
₵120.00 -
The Bittersweet Pill of Politics: My Memoirs
The Bittersweet Pill of Politics chronicles the author’s experiences in Ghana’s political landscape and reveals intriguing themes.
“The passion, clarity, detail and narrative power with which Amma writes her memoirs, which are inextricably interwoven with the political odyssey of her inimitable brother, late Prime Minister Kofi Busia, through the 1950s and 60s make her story classic”. – H.E. J.A. Kufour, President of the Republic of Ghana (January 2001 – January 2009)
“The Bitter Sweet Pill of Politics shows unparalleled courage exhibited by a woman whose passion for democracy, unquenchably desire and thirst for political power for her political tradition. The book also discusses how she actively and passionately played substantial roles in the governance structure of her country. She agrees with Maimonides, a Jewish Philosopher, that ‘The risk of a wrong decision is preferable to the terror of indecision’. Her resilience is extraordinary and legendary”. – Yaw Osei-Amoako, Manager, Election 2016 situation Room, NPP; Former Chairman, NPP, Toronto, Canada
“By the time she is narrating the memoirs of her life in The Bitter Sweet Pill of Politics, Amma Bame Busia has become the matriarch of the legendary Busia family. Her focus is on her brother, Kofi Busia, Prime Minister of the Second Republic, whose life as she captures in the vivid narrative would seem to have more of the bitter than the sweet bit of the political pill. But she paints a more rounded picture of him than can be found anywhere else. Her narrative encompasses far more than her own interesting life story. She fills many holes in the story of Ghana’s political history. – Elizabeth A. Ohene, Writer, Columnist
₵200.00 – ₵250.00The Bittersweet Pill of Politics: My Memoirs
₵200.00 – ₵250.00 -
Politics in Ghana (1982-1992): Rawlings, Revolution and Populist Democracy
This work was embarked upon as part of my study of military intervention in politics which had become the bane of politics in my country and Africa as a whole. My previous study had encompassed the period 1972-1979 (vide Politics In Ghana 1972 — 1979). The publication was well received and it won several awards. The book decried military rule in the hope that it would discourage military incursions in Ghanaian politics. As the 31 December Revolution unfolded, several friends impressed upon me, and I felt a deep obligation in the same direction, to capture and analyse the events of the time for posterity and for the guidance of my beloved country.
With the advent of the PNDC on 31 December 1981, revolutionary politics was launched, which was geared towards participatory democracy. The PNDC military government claimed that it was not just another military junta but that under the auspices of the military and civilian revolutionary leaders and cadres, the people were taking their destinies into their own hands towards the establishment of grassroots democracy. In the process, as the revolutionaries claimed, all injustices would be redressed, corruption would be eradicated and a new era of prosperity would dawn as “true democracy” was manifested.
My task in this work was to examine critically, the true nature of the PNDC, its composition, declared aims and objectives and whether the politics of revolution which dawned on 31 December 1981, could be justified. It was worthy to study and document whether the Defence Committees, District Assemblies, political and legal institutions of the PNDC, the regime’s human rights record, economic and social policies, responsibility and accountability to the populace, responsiveness in government and its electoral record did lead to a true democracy. The work is seen as a contribution towards answering the question: did the PNDC bring democracy to Ghana?
₵140.00 -
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 -
To the Thirsty Land: Autobiography of a Patriot by Emmanuel Evans-Anfom
Emmanuel Evans-Anfom, who passed away in 2021 at the age of 101 years, was considered a living legend in Ghana.
He was one of the great pioneers of the medical profession in that country, as well as serving as Vice Chancellor for The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi. His memoirs span his lifetime from the end of colonial rule through four and a half decades of independent Ghana. They tell the story of his early upbringing in James Town, the seminal impact of Achimota College on his education and career, and his medical training at Edinburgh University in wartime Britain. At the peak of his professional career, Evans-Anfom was one of the leading surgeons of the country and a renowned educationalist.
₵130.00 – ₵180.00To the Thirsty Land: Autobiography of a Patriot by Emmanuel Evans-Anfom
₵130.00 – ₵180.00 -
Not My Time to Die
“Reading Yolande Mukagasana’s book in French at the age of 15 changed my life.”- Gaël Faye
Originally published as La mort ne veut pas de moi in 1997, this book was the first survivor testimony to be published about the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
In 1994 Yolande was an unconventional nurse and mother of three who enjoyed wearing jeans and designer glasses. She ran her own clinic in Nyamirambo and was planning a party for her wedding anniversary. But when genocide started everything changed. Targeted because she was a successful Tutsi woman, she was separated from her family and had to flee for her life.
Mukagasana’s gripping memoir describes the betrayal of friends and help that came from surprising places. Quick-witted and courageous, Yolande never lost hope she would find her children alive.
Translated from the French by Zoe Norridge.
₵100.00Not My Time to Die
₵100.00 -
Booknook Leadership Pack: They Call Me Archie, The Bold New Normal, Broken for Use (3 Exceptional Ghanaian Leaders)0
Get these 3 books by three amazing Ghanaian leaders and enjoy free shipping across Ghana!
*This Free shipping offer does not apply to destinations outside Ghana
They Call Me Archie
There are some life stories you just cannot beat. Each time the names of such champions drop, one might as well perform a rite of acknowledgment…any. Their lives have graced hundreds of lives, and hundreds of lives continue to be redeemed through them. They have seen it all. Done it all. They love and they are loved. These individuals have given, and still have more in store. According to the Canon of the Classics, these persons, even the gods envy.
Rosina Aboagye Acheampong is one such mortal. From the precocity of her childhood, her dance with life has been one amazing ball of faith … and chance, nay, destiny. These captivating pages reel out the adventures of a pathfinder, a mould breaker and a pacesetter. Yes, her name might be synonymous with Wesley Girls, but be it at the national or community level, to list what she has achieved is to embark on the impossible.
Beautifully, however, Archie the Matriarch does not seem to see the power of her influence. She only wants to give thanks and praise.
Broken For Use
Broken for Use is a moving, intimate memoir which takes you on a truly tumultuous journey with Rev’d Akua. By the time she takes you from her early days in school, through the various turns in her life that finally bring her to the priesthood, you feel you have experienced many lifetimes. She tells her story as it is, straight and unadorned.
Reverend Akua Buabema Ofori-Boateng is an expressive clergy and philanthropist with a strong belief in excellence.
The Bold New Normal
Have you ever wondered what it will take to transform each African country into a prosperous nation where each citizen has a real opportunity to thrive? Africa’s narrative has been shaped by a vision of the future that remains bleak. A vision that says a little more is okay for the African. It is time to challenge and change our paradigm of what great outcomes look like for an African country.
It is time for The Bold New Normal of an Africa where citizens of each country genuinely have the opportunity to prosper.
The formula for sustainable prosperity has been tried and tested world over. Why then do we continue to hope that a different method, that has thus far failed the continent, will create sustainable prosperity?
The Bold New Normal is a timely publication that coincides with the 400th anniversary of the start of slavery: the year of return. 400 years since the unraveling of African began, it is time to piece her back together and focus forward. It is surely the time for The Bold New Normal!
₵350.00 -
A Country to Love and to Serve: Memoirs of a Ghanaian Diplomat
This epic memoir chronicling the author’s diplomatic journey is a superb and enticing story, richly told. The narration provides great insights into the personal life and professional travails of a quintessential diplomat who rose from humble beginnings to be one of the eminent Ambassadors of the nation. Most fascinating is how adeptly the author combines the demands of motherhood and family with her tasks in the complex world of diplomacy.
The memoir provides great insights, important lessons and best practices in diplomatic practice that should be invaluable for the nation’s policy makers and diplomats. The story told through A COUNTRY TO LOVE AND TO SERVE should be a real inspiration for young diplomats and a must read for any student of diplomacy.
₵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 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 -
Chasing the Elephant Into the Bush: The Politics of Complacency
Chasing the Elephant Into the Bush: The Politics of Complacency is an insider’s account of how the governing New Patriotic Party lost power in the closest elections in Africa’s history. The writer believes that providing an accurate account will begin the process of correcting the rumours, lies and myths that are out there about the 2008 elections in Ghana.
Throughout, the book is liberally sprinkled with quotes and historical references that makes it very informative and interesting. He begins with the state of the nation and the governing party as Ghana approached 2008.
He then takes the reader through the NPP primary and his own experiences as a losing candidate. There is candid discussion of the rivalries in the campaign that undermined its effectiveness. He takes the reader inside meetings and quotes some of the key players at key moments in the campaign.
There is candid discussion of the roles of the media, the security forces and civil society. The identification of issues and their use in the campaign is discussed thoroughly. While his sympathies are never in doubt, he is very objective and acknowledges the mistakes made by the campaign, the government and the party. He credits the NDC Campaign for doing certain things well. Amongst these are the deployment of President Mills and former President Rawlings as well as Vice-President John Mahama.
He reveals the roles of key people, including the President, the Presidential candidate and powerful groups, like the “Kyebi Mafia”. He offers candid assessments of all the key players. He suggests reasons for the NPP defeat and the way to recapture power.
This will be a very significant first cut and reference point for an account of the 2008 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections in Ghana.
₵320.00 -
The Boneshaker Politician
The Boneshaker Politician is an autobiography of A.K. Opoku. He narrates how he gave his life to Christ in a dramatic way while travelling in a boneshaker, a wooden truck. He recounts how the Lord used him by way of evangelism and church building and his involvement in an uncompromising undercover politics in the church. Meanwhile he had nursed a childhood ambition of being an active politician.
With all his “boneshaker” experience, he entered into politics and discovers that it was a different world altogether and bemoans the high moral and the financial entry requirements required of a Christian to engage in active politics. He raises question as to whether exhortations to get Christians involved in active politics is enough. He concludes with his family life and marvels at the art of God where four children of the same parentage and breed have four different characters and ambitions.
₵50.00The Boneshaker Politician
₵50.00 -
I Speak of Freedom
A selection from the speeches of Kwame Nkrumah up to 1960, linked by narrative.
The main theme is Ghana’s independence, political freedom preparing the way for a socialist programme of economic and social development, and an intensification of the struggle for the total liberation and unification of the African continent.
₵340.00I Speak of Freedom
₵340.00 -
Central Banking in Ghana and the Governors: Institutional Growth and Economic Development (Hardcover)
A charge of chariots of fire, this is not just a book about the financial history of Ghana in spite of its formative challenges but a centenary work of West Africa – regional monetary evolution and global multilateralism. For devout bankers, intelligentsia, historians and aspirants, this is the one. Elegantly written, it establishes Agyeman-Duah as an unavoidable historian of the Bank of Ghana. — Jewel Howard-Taylor, Vice-President of the Republic of Liberia
The Bank of Ghana is technically a better institution than it was thirty years ago. Even governments are less inclined towards interventions in its work. It is different from other captured public institutions where economic decision-making is with a political lens. — Prof. Ernest Aryeetey, Former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana and Co-editor of The Economy of Ghana-Analytical Perspectives on Stability, Growth and Poverty
The Bank of Ghana is leading central banks in the sub-region with regards to the use of technology in the finance service industry … countries in Africa are now learning from Ghana’s digital payment regulations. — Mohammed Sanusi Lamido, Former Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria and the 14th Emir of Kano
Ghana has in recent years been one of Africa’s more successful economies – from its colonial journey through Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) to stable modern democracy. Agyeman-Duah has a sound appreciation of the difficulties of transforming a producer of commodities of raw materials into a prosperous mixed economy. Now an oil economy, the test ahead is, will Ghana at last be able to control its own economic destiny; free of obligations to donors and the storms from world commodity markets? — Frances Cairncross, Rector Emeritus, Exeter College, University of Oxford and Former Managing Editor, The Economist
₵300.00 -
The Presbyterian Church of Ghana (P.C.G.): History and Impact
Jesus the Christ proclaimed the Great commission at the close of his earthly work in the first century. But it was not until around the last quarter of the 15th century that, according to a Papal arrangement, the Portuguese reached the Ghanaian coast with the Gospel, but with an economic motive which was expressed as follows:
To divert to the coast and hence directly to Portugal the wealth of the gold trade across the Sahara, with the hope that the material gain therefrom would enable Portugal better wage that crusade against Islam.
Later, other European nations followed with Empire-building motives. This involved the natives in fighting European religious wars. This spilled over into Africa as the European nations took colonies.
Development in other parts of the world gave a spark to the buying and selling of humans as slaves. Europe came to regret the trade’s evil effect and, therefore, decided to compensate the bleeding African continent through holistic ministry spearheaded by missionaries.
This book traces how Ghana was colonized and evangelised. It narrows down to the activities of the Basel Evangelical Missionary Society (BEMS). This eventually gave birth to the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCC).
A colonial Governor complimented the Mission on the eve of World War 1 as follows:
“The government regards the work of the Basel Mission as incomparably the best in the Gold Coast (GC). It is no exaggeration to say that the Mission makes the G.C.”
The book highlights how the P.C.G. has continued in holistic ministry towards the national wellbeing.
The author Kofi Nkansa-Kyeremanteng who passed on at the age of 70 (in the year 2007) had blue Presbyterian blood running in his veins. He schooled and later taught in Presbyterian Educational institutions. Through his writing and publishing activities, dating back to 1976, Mr. Nkansa Kyeremanteng’s name has won attachment to literature pertaining to the church.
₵60.00