• Two Views from Christiansborg Castle Vol II: A Description of the Guinea Coast and its Inhabitants

    Selena Axelrod Winsnes has been engaged, since 1982, in the translation into English, and editing of Danish language sources to West African history, sources published from 1697 to 1822, the period during which Denmark-Norway was an actor in the Transatlantic Slave Trade. It comprises five major books written for the Scandinavian public. They describe all aspects of life on the Gold Coast [Ghana], the Middle Passage and the Danish Caribbean islands [US Virgin Islands], as seen by five different men. Each had his own agenda and mind-set, and the books, both singly and combined, hold a wealth of information – of interest both to scholars and lay readers. They provide important insights into the cultural baggage the enslaved Africans carried with them to the America’s.

    One of the books, L.F. Rømer’s A Reliable Account of the Coast of Guinea was runner-up for the prestigious International Texts Prize awarded by the U.S. African Studies Association.

  • Africa Writes Back: The African Writers Series & the Launch of African Literature

    June 17, 2008, is the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart by Heinemann. This publication provided the impetus for the foundation of the African Writers Series in 1962 with Chinua Achebe as the editorial adviser. This narrative, drawing liberally on the correspondence with the authors, concentrates on the adventurous first twenty-five years.

    Africa Writes Back: The African Writer’s Series & the Launch of African Literature captures the energy of literary publishing in a new and undefined field. Portraits of the leading characters and the many consultants and readers providing reports and advice to new and established writers make Africa Writes Back a stand-out book. James Currey’s voice and insights are an added bonus.

  • Lagos: City of the Imagination – Hardcover

    “I don’t think you can be in Lagos without becoming aware of its potency; when Lagos gets itself organised it will be extremely powerful; and already – without organisation – it is very powerful.” Rem Koolhaas, 2002

    Lagos is fast becoming a global city – a place people visit for curiosity and the vibe as much as for business or family. The mesmerising energy and intensity of the city have to be experienced to be understood. But what is the story of Lagos? When did the city begin? Who were the first inhabitants? When did it become the city of iniquity and wisdom that continues to confound all who encounters it? Who have been the key chroniclers of this real yet imaginary city?

    Veteran journalist and writer Kaye Whiteman has given us a gem that answers these questions and more. Lagos: City of the Imagination explains the origins of Lagos as both outpost of the Benin Empire and also the city run by the White Cap Chiefs. Whiteman shows that Lagos was always multicultural and cosmopolitan, with the Portuguese and later educated returnees from Sierra Leone and artisans from Brazil adding to the eclectic mix.

    The book examines the key moments in the history of Lagos: from the concerted attack by the British in the 1860s, Independence in 1960, the 1966 coup through to FESTAC and the assassination of Murtala Muhammed. Also included are vivid character portraits of some of the most powerful Lagosians in history, from Oba Kosoko and Madam Tinubu, to well-regarded colonial figures such as Sir Bernard Bourdillon and those – like Lord Lugard – not so fondly remembered.

    As the name suggests, Lagos: City of the Imagination deals extensively in those for whom Lagos is the backdrop of their work, from highlife musicians and Fela Kuti to Wole Soyinka and, more recently, the American-Nigerian writer Teju Cole.

    Lagos: City of the Imagination is an absorbing and delightful “must-read” for anyone with an interest in one of the most dramatic cities of the 21st century.

  • Afajato: Stories from Around the Volta Lake

    In response to the Aidoo Centre’s call for submissions, 144 entries poured in from writers eager to contribute to this literary exploration of the Volta Region and Togo.
    The editors and publishers, committed to fostering diverse voices and storytelling styles, welcomed a range of submissions, including humour, quality flash fiction, and stories with experimental narratives.

    This book is a collection of stories that made the cut. It follows the success of the Centre’s previous publications, including Adabraka: Stories from the Centre of the World, Larabanga: Stories from the Savannah, The Lockdown: creative nonfiction about living with COVID-19, and Untold Stories Vol. 1.

    Each publication has contributed to the Centre’s mission of promoting critical reading, creative writing, and literacy among the youth in Ghana.

  • Alke-Bulan Duo and Heritage Tales from Santse

    “Alke-Bulan Duo” is an uncommon, classical novel – a historical fictional narrative of the saga of Two Ancient Africans, whose identities and personae were inspired by the intriguing Biblical account of Barabbas and Simeon of Cyrene. The saga of the Two is positioned in the historical settings of the 1st century AD and is recounted by Ataa Forkoyi, the legendary protagonist, to his audience of seven children of the Kerit Kids Klub at a campsite in the Accra Plains of Ghana.
    The novel’s foremost backdrop – an enveloping ambience of settings anchored in the epoch of ancient times and in varying geographical spaces, including Judea, stretching from North-East and North-West Africa (Pelusium, Alexandria, Apollonia and Cyrene), the Sahara Desert, Menroe, Sudan and Ethiopia, is juxtaposed to complementing contexts of explored realities of 19th and 20th centuries’ remarkable natural and cultural heritages of Ghana.
    The plot of the novel is lucid, but subtly woven and couched in varying intricate and intriguing circumstances and contexts that essentially frame the novel, characterized by exquisite historical allusions, sharp satirical inferences, fabulous natural history expositions and architectural analytical references, aligned with profoundly scholarly and philosophical reflections.
    The novel is a literary masterpiece, crafted in a non-pedigreed genre, full of fascinating nuances and spectacles, besides spiking the narration with conscious allusions to the significance of the role of the Black African race in human history, aspersions to the trans-Sahara and trans-Atlantic Slave Trades, employment of the poetic power of dualism, highlighting usage of Latin and Ga words in the text to accentuate the classical and cultural orientation of the novel.
    It is a novel that proclaims a robust and a compelling message of hope for Black African youth and children.

  • Understanding Political Institutions (AsanteBrako Political Series)

    Understanding Political Institutions comprehensively addresses both the theoretical and practical aspects of institutions in governance and politics. Written in an accessible style, the text is designed to introduce readers to political institutions and how they function to ensure sustainable peace and stability in the state.

    The focus of the text is on meanings, origins, features, structures, principles, theories and functions of both formal and informal political institutions, including the legislature, executive and judiciary, as well as civil society organizations, such as political parties, interest groups and the media. Other institutional processes and principles like separation of powers, checks and balances, rule of law, electoral processes and systems and constitutions are discussed.

    Each chapter features the key issues discussed, a summary of contents and sample examination questions. Understanding Political Institutions is indeed an essential reader and a must-read for anyone who is interested in gaining adequate knowledge about how both formal and informal political institutions function in a state.

  • Falls in Ghana: Unified Guide Books & A Coffee Table Photobook (Chasing Waterfalls with Steve Ababio & Gina Arthur)

    Waterfalls in Ghana are interesting, delightful and well worth the effort to seek out and explore. While Ghana does not have any with the sheer vast height or width of say Niagara Falls on the US-Canada border, or Victoria Falls in East Africa, falls in Ghana offer a much closer personal interaction in that you can stand under or much closer to the cascades and bathe or swim in their plunge pools.

    The Chasing Waterfalls with Steve Ababio & Gina Arthur Guide books help make your personal journey a lot easier and more rewarding as you get to pick and choose the sort of experience you prefer. The Coffee Table Book is the perfect gift for anyone you’d like to introduce to Ghana, for your own enjoyment.

    1,300.001,350.00
  • …Power to the People: Reflections on Retrogressive Politics

    Published in 1984…Power to the People is a doctor’s medicine for Ghana’s ills. The pill is occasionally bitter, but is coated with a generous layer of therapeutic laughter, to help its message slide gently into the appropriate organs of the national digestive system.

    Presented in the form of prose, poetry and cartoons, the first part of the book, subtitled The Past, covers the Nkrumah, Kotoka, Afrifa & Ankrah, Busia, Acheampong & Akuffo, Rawlings 1979 and Limann eras. The second part, subtitled The Present, covers the first three years of the second coming of Rawlings.

    In a satirical treatment of our history over almost 30 years, this book sheds a great light onto the paths that Ghana traversed in those heady years, in a form that is easy to read, reflect on and learn.

    In the author’s own words, “in recording these…my hope is that others would be induced to ponder over and question loudly some of those short-comings, lapses and omissions in our national character and situation which are stifling our growth and retarding the country’s progress. If our questions get loud and irritating enough to cause discomfiture in our policy makers, then the reader wouldn’t have been bored for nothing.”

  • 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!

  • The Legislative System of Ghana

    This book focuses on the legislative system of Ghana. It contains sixteen chapters, each focusing on a unique aspect of the legislative system of Ghana. It outlines the rules, the practice, and procedure that govern the conduct of business and Members in the Parliament of Ghana and its committees, and the various actors involved in the organisation of the legislative business. It breaks into minute forms, the procedural norms, and attitudes that influence members’ behaviour and the various parliamentary outcomes.

    “This study is well researched and presented in a very lucid form…. Indeed, it is a very useful source for students, parliamentarians, and academics on the parliamentary history, procedure, and practice of Ghana’s Parliament.” – Hon Dr. Benjamin Kunbour, Former Majority Leader, Former Minister of Defence and Senior Lecturer, University of Ghana School of Law

  • Tour Guiding: The Ultimate Guide to Theory and Practice

    **Available from 16 October, 2021

    Guides are tourism professionals who lead their guests through the most interesting parts of their region. It is their task to engage visitors and to help interpret the sights that they visit. They please tourists by telling interesting but relevant narratives and respond in proactive ways to their complaints and requests. Guides are trained to always have enough knowledge and insight about the subject of the tour and ensure the safety and satisfaction of their guests.

    In this handy resource book, two seasoned practitioners have combined their working experience of a lifetime. What makes this book priceless is that it is enriched by over two decades of guide training experience as well as engagements with colleague guides, tourism professionals and a cross-section of tourists.

    “The scope of coverage is vast and will be very useful as a general guidebook for any reader seeking access to our history, geography and our rich cultural heritage.” – Mrs. Stella W. Appenteng, CEO, Apstar Tours Limited

    “Tour guiding is a bridging process around which the tourism experience revolves. This book comes to edify our tour guides on the substance and mechanics of their profession. It comes at a time when the industry has become more dynamic and in need of accurate, adequate, culture-nuanced interpretations.” – Tata Nkunu Akyea, Tourism Consultant & Tour Guide Extraordinaire

  • Destiny and Politics: A Biography of Hon. Samuel Sallas-Mensah

    From a humble beginning as the son of a farmer in a relatively small town, Hon. Samuel Sallas-Mensah, four terms MP for Upper West Akim would perhaps have ended up as a farmer too. In those days, children took after their parents’ trades. Sallas got the chance to go to America and the entire course of his life changed. After a distinguished career in accountancy in the US and later in Nigeria, destiny led his way once more but this time to the country of his birth, Ghana, where eventually, a new career window opened in his life – politics.

    As a Member of the Consultative Assembly his accounting and financial acumen were in evidence as he actively contributed to the District Assembly Common Fund. And as a Member of Parliament he was instrumental in instituting the live television coverage of the sitting of the Public Accounts Committee – legacies to the nation that survive today.

    In this compelling biography the reader come face-to-face with this influential man of few words who is famed to have friends and access to both sides of the Ghanaian political divide. But what would Sallas be remembered for most, a politician, a chartered accountant or family man? More importantly, where else will destiny lead him to?

    “Crispy-delicious narratives, refreshingly-garnished insights. This fascinating biography of a patriot never finishes astonishing you with the twists and turns. But it is the authoritative revelations about a nation and its people that makes this book destined to be relevant to the politics of Ghana.” ~ Business & Financial Times

  • God Bless Our Homeland Ghana: Understanding, Appreciating and Living by the Principles of Our National Anthem

    The school prefect stood straight before his mates and gave a simple command. At once, like the eruption of thunder, the students began to sing: God Bless Our Homeland Ghana … and they sang it religiously.

    This ritual is repeated throughout the country routinely-in schools, at conferences, on soccer pitches, at durbars, on radio and television, and even as caller-tunes. But what does the national anthem really mean? What role does it play on our national psyche?

    The author shows how relevant the national anthem is to us. He believes that it evokes patriotism and fellow-feeling, but it also tests our words and actions.

    In his down-to-earth manner of writing, the author invites you to journey with him along the poetic phrases and lines of all three stanzas of the Ghana National Anthem. Enjoy this literary-style exposition and commentary, the hidden meanings and implications of the anthem, and their links to certain sacred songs of the land such as the national pledge.

  • Red Oak Heroes Series: Theodosia Okoh

    *Available from 15 August 2023

    Age Range: 10 – 14 years

    When it was advertised in the dailies for the flag to be designed for Ghana, Theodosia Okoh took the opportunity to show her creativity. Her beautiful and thoughtful design replaced the Union Jack which Ghana was using as a flag even after independence. To every colour that is in the flag, she gave a meaning. She was not just an artist but a teacher who thought teaching was a duty to God and thus, did it for the good of all.
    In the story about the woman who designed Ghana’s most popular symbol, you will discover that the Ghana flag, like any other piece of art, can have several intriguing interpretations.

  • Sense of Grace and Mission

    John Samuel Pobee studied at Adisadel 1950-56 obtaining both the Cambridge School Certificate and Higher School Certificate. Subsequently, he studied at University of Ghana and Selwyn College, University of Cambridge. He had his priestly formation at Westcott House, Cambridge. At the University of Ghana, he was Head of Department for the Study of Religions, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Admissions and Examinations.
    He later worked at the World Council of Churches in Geneva. He was Emeritus Professor at the University of Ghana. He was married to Martha, a career diplomat of the Ghana Foreign Service.
    He served as the Vicar-General of the Anglican Diocese of Accra.
    Prof Pobee died in Ghana in January 2020 at the age of 82.

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