• Ghana: An African Portrait Revisited (Photo Book, Hardcover)

    Ghana: An African Portrait by the American photographer Paul Strand was published in 1963 at the request of Kwame Nkrumah. It became a classic but is now out of print. Over 40 years after that landmark work, and coinciding with the 50th anniversary celebrations of Ghana’s independence, the country is documented again as it enters the 21st century.

    With more than 150 photographs, this book presents Ghana at a historic moment in time remembering its past and tradition, while looking ahead to a bright future. Six photographers with six points of view of working present a unique portrait of the country, through these photographs. From Accra to Bolatanga, and Elmina to Aflao, these are images of a country that is changing yet still retains much of its traditional character.

    There are photographs of bead makers, wood carvers, kente weavers and coffin makers; and of Ghana’s unique fishing industry, its historic slave forts, outdoor markets, and the diverse religious community. And at the same time, a country poised to compete in world markets is seen through Accra’s rising skyline buildings and Tema’s modern port facilities. Abena Busia’s essay provides a capsule history of the country.

  • Our Ancestories Bookset: Idia of the Benin Kingdom, Njinga of Ndongo and Matamba Plus Coloring & Activity Books (4 books)

    Age Range: 4 – 12 years

    • Children’s Africana Book Awards (CABA) – 2021 Winner – Best Books for Young Children
    • Wishing Shelf Book Award – 2020 Finalist
    • Kidsshelf Book Cover Award -2020 Winner
    • Eric Hoffer Award – Honourable Mention (Children’s Category) First Horizon Finalist Grand Prize Short List

    The complete set of the Our Ancestories books. Our picture books as well as accompanying workbooks on Queen Idia and Njinga. These are stories of hope and courage that show every young girl is capable of greatness.

    There is a deep divide between the truth of African history and the common understanding of it. Our Ancestories Bookset helps to bridge this gap through various means including stories about two African female leaders and accompanying activity and colouring books.

    This set includes:

    Idia of the Benin Kingdom (Our Ancestories)

    Njinga of Ndongo and Matamba (Our Ancestories)

    Idia of the Benin Kingdom: Coloring and Activity Book (Our Ancestories)

    Njinga of Ndongo and Matamba: Coloring and Activity Book (Our Ancestories)

    Our Ancestories’ vision is to nudge the world towards a point where:

    • There is an avid learning culture for African history.
    • People of African descent are at least as exposed to African history as we are to Western history.
    • Africans look more to our history as we pave a way for the future.
    • Legends that make up African history are mainstream and are introduced to children across the globe.
  • 1947-1957: The Story of Ghana’s Independence

    “I never realized what a prolonged battle I would have with the politicians, chiefs and people of the Gold Coast in order to give them the independence for which they have been clamouring all these years. Now they are going to have it whether they like it or not” – Sir Charles Arden-Clarke (Governor of the Gold Coast, 1949-1957)

    What would have influenced the above statement by the last Governor of the Gold Coast, which reveals the complicated, frustrating and tortuous trajectory of the last decade in the struggle for Ghana’s independence? This book, 1947-1957: The Story of Ghana’s Independence, not only answers this question but critically examines the roots of the nationalist movement and the role plays by several individuals, including Arden-Clarke himself and the various political organizations that led to the independence of the Gold Coast from British rule on March 6, 1957.

  • From the Hut to Oxford: The Autobiography of the Most Reverend Peter Kwasi Sarpong (Hardcover)

    From the Hut to Oxford clearly shows the huge impact that Archbishop Sarpong has made during his priestly and episcopal minstry, spanning forty-nine years from 1959 to 2008. His impact has been on the Catholic Church in Ghana, education, culture and religion. The relative understanding, harmony and cooperation among the religious bodies in the country – between the Catholic and non-Catholic Christians, between followers of Islam and Christians, etc. – can be attributed in no small measure to his unflagging endeavours in ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue. Happily, his effort in this regard. Happily, his effort in this regard has been universally acknowledged. In a world racked by religious bigotry, dissension and mayhem, he deserves more than a pat on the back. — Most Rev. Matthias Kobina Nketsiah, Emeritus Archbishop of Cape Coast

  • 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.
  • A Panorama of Ghana’s Heritage: Una mirada al patrimonio de Ghana – in English & Spanish (Photo Book, Hardcover)

    Ghana, with Forts and Castles inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, is the African country with the oldest and greatest number of slave Castles dotted along the whole length of its coastline from which slaves were shipped. The capture and forced transfer, over the centuries, of millions of Africans to other parts of the world, along with their cultural traditions, skills, ideas and general heritage, not only had a profound impact on the African continent, but ultimately left a major mark in the formation and shape of cultures and civilizations of the world.

    Ghana, con fuertes y castillos inscritos en la Lista del Patrimonio Mundial de la UNESCO, es el país africano con los más antiguos y númerosos fuertes situados a lo largo de la costa, desde donde los esclavos eran embarcados. La captura y el traslado forzoso, a lo largo de los siglos, de millones de africanos a otras partes del mundo, junto con sus tradiciones culturales, habilidades, ideas y herencia en general, no sólo tuvo un impacto profundo en el continente africano, sino que dejó en última instancia una huella profunda en la génesis y forma de las culturas y civilizaciones del mundo.

    Includes bibliographical references (pages 105-106) and index.

    English and Spanish.

  • It Takes A Woman: A Life Shaped by Heritage, Leadership and the Women Who Defined Hope

    It Takes a Woman retraces the early life of Agyeman‐Rawlings who rose to prominence as the First Lady of the Republic of Ghana (1982-2000). She redefined the privilege of serving a nation, and sought every platform to champion the causes of underserved citizenry and women. While her husband, former President Jerry John Rawlings, embarked on a relentless pursuit of transforming Ghana into a model of African democracy, Mrs. Agyeman-Rawlings founded the 31st December Women’s Movement (the 31st DWM), an organisation which played a pivotal role in the empowerment of women, and in addressing issues of systemic gender inequality, not only in Ghana but across the African region.

    Born in an era when women were overtly marginalised, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings’ strong relationship with her father, mother and family elders formed the core of much of her formative years. Fortified by her unique family history, she was raised to never accept the notion that there were some things she could not do, simply because she was a woman.”

    The narrative captures the family history of a spirited little girl, and as she walks us through the refreshingly detailed scenes from her childhood, we are transported to a hopeful and quintessential Ghana, where a sense of national pride resounded powerfully at the time of independence. But as she recalls Ghana’s struggles post-independence, we are also confronted face to face with her juxtaposed emotions of elation and frustration, hurt and joy, certainty and dread. She was not to know that her personal life being upended early one morning in 1979 would also become a turning point in the nation’s history and would thrust her into the glare of international publicity.

    It Takes a Woman, written with unflinching candour, is an absorbing portrait of a life devoted to public service and shaped by heritage. Above all, it is an account of resilience. The voices of the women who stood tall will forever inspire Agyeman-Rawlings to stand for many more whose voices may not be loud enough to stand on their own.

  • Justice Daniel Francis Annan: In the Service of Democracy

    Justice Annan’s public service in Ghana’s recent history embodies how an individual, acting in concert with compatriots, can direct the course of history using institutions which may prevail at a specific conjuncture in that history.

    The objective of producing this biography of Justice Annan is to extrapolate from his life as a public servant, especially during the critical period of 1982- 1992 when he was a key member of the PNDC, and the 1993 – 2000 when he was Speaker of the first and second Parliaments of the Fourth Republic, the lessons and insights that add value to the existing knowledge of how social and political dynamics are purposefully managed even in the most challenging times; and how key institutions like Parliament are nurtured in a nascent democracy to literally turn dust into gold. The weight of the biography therefore leans heavily on Justice Annan’s public service during the two periods indicated above.

    This biography was sponsored by the IDEG under its Senior Citizen Scholar in Residence Programme, which is non-partisan and open to all who have distinguished themselves in rendering service to our dear country Ghana. We hope that this publication will inspire institutions and individual philanthropists, both Ghanaian and foreign, to contribute generously to the funding of the programme. The programme aims at deepening our knowledge and understanding of the momentous conjunctures in our history that have shaped the content and trajectory of Ghana’s young democratic state.

  • Letters of Hope To My Younger Self

    A legacy project, Letters of Hope to My Younger Self is a compilation of testimonials and inspirational stories from notable Ghanaians across the globe. They too, experienced failure, fears, discouragement, and missteps. Knowing what they have been able to overcome and then go on to achieve in life, tells us that we too, have the power to break through our challenges and achieve higher heights.

    Throughout the book, readers will learn about the challenges and lessons that have impacted individuals across generations.

     

  • Truth Without Reconciliation: A Human Rights History of Ghana (Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights)

    Although truth and reconciliation commissions are supposed to generate consensus and unity in the aftermath of political violence, Abena Ampofoa Asare identifies cacophony as the most valuable and overlooked consequence of this process in Ghana. By collecting and preserving the voices of a diverse cross-section of the national population, Ghana’s National Reconciliation Commission (2001-2004) created an unprecedented public archive of postindependence political history as told by the self-described victims of human rights abuse.
    The collected voices in the archives of this truth commission expand Ghana’s historic record by describing the state violence that seeped into the crevices of everyday life, shaping how individuals and communities survived the decades after national independence. Here, victims of violence marshal the language of international human rights to assert themselves as experts who both mourn the past and articulate the path toward future justice.
    There are, however, risks as well as rewards for dredging up this survivors’ history of Ghana. The revealed truth of Ghana’s human rights history is the variety and dissonance of suffering voices. These conflicting and conflicted records make it plain that the pursuit of political reconciliation requires, first, reckoning with a violence that is not past but is preserved in national institutions and individual lives. By exploring the challenge of human rights testimony as both history and politics, Asare charts a new course in evaluating the success and failures of truth and reconciliation commissions in Africa and around the world.

  • Flags of the World (Hardcover)

    Age Range: 8+ years

    In this complete compendium of the world’s flags, each nation’s flag is paired with facts and tidbits of history. These flags provide a window into the histories, values, and cultures of countries around the world.

    Waving in the wind, a flag may not seem like a code. But hidden in the stripes, stars, suns, moons, and colors of the world’s flags are the keys to understanding different countries’ shared histories and cherished ideals.

    Flags do much more than identify countries and groups of people. In every color, pattern, and design, the citizens and governments of countries announce their allegiances and herald their history. If you know what to look for, a flag can reveal major insights into another country’s history and culture.

     

  • The Boy from Boadua: One African’s Journey of Hunger and Sacrifice in Pursuit of a Dream

    *Available from 7 February 2023

    Patrick Asare was born and raised by illiterate parents in the remote Ghanaian village of Boadua. His family was so large and impoverished that not even the earnings from crushing hard work could buy enough food to fill their bellies. No one in the village aspired to be educated beyond middle school.

    Until Patrick.

    Numerous obstacles stood in the way of Patrick’s yearning for higher knowledge, including gnawing hunger, lack of sleep, and backbreaking daily chores. During school vacations, he toiled in a jungle farm teeming with poisonous snakes and insects.

    Dedicating every stolen moment to study, Patrick passed the common entrance exam with flying colors. Despite major setbacks, he kept his eye on the prize. He graduated from an elite secondary school and earned his engineering degree in the Soviet Union during the perestroika era. Finding his way to the United States, he taught Russian and math and eventually obtained a superb education from top American universities.

    Patrick’s travels and adventures taught him that, regardless of his hardscrabble childhood, he was a lucky man. He was raised by loving and supportive parents and lived in a society where race was not an issue. Teaching in inner-city high schools alerted him to the particular challenges faced by America’s urban Black youth.

    Patrick’s amazing story offers insights, hope, and inspiration to others who face astronomical odds.

  • Who Owns the Land and Who Rules the Land?

    Ghana is undergoing her fourth experiment in Constitutional Rule − the 4th Republic. She was the first Black African country south of the Sahara to gain her political independence in 1957 but economic independence has eluded her till now. Her development is at a snail-pace at best.

    According to the author, there are certain fundamental bottlenecks in the country’s governance system which make it difficult for her to realize her economic potential. The author compares Ghana’s governance system to Singapore which gained political independence around the same time as Ghana but has successfully transformed from Third World to First World economic status in 30 years and asks why the difference. The author calls for a national debate on the country’s governance system that will lead to a total review of the 1992 Constitution. The following are some of the key issues he calls the nation’s attention to:

     

    • A Feudal Land Tenure System whereby more than 90% of the land mass of Ghana is vested in the Chieftaincy institution as Stool Lands and the remaining 10% vested in the President on behalf of the people of Ghana as Public Lands. A system which greatly impedes development and benefits only a privileged few and yet there are no Land Reforms
    • The Legacy of the Colonial Indirect Rule leading to a “bifurcated state” in which traditional authority runs parallel to civilian political authority
    • An Ineffective Decentralization System which excludes the traditional leaders and refuses to allow the people to elect their own District Chief Executives whom they can hold accountable
    • An Adversarial Political System in which the two main political parties have indulged in violence since independence and thus refuse to reach consensus for national development
    • The Short Tenure of the Executive and Legislature which does not promote long term planning and execution for meaningful development
    • An expensive electoral system which engenders corruption and prevents well-meaning and qualified candidates from offering themselves for governance
    • The Lack of a National Agenda for development and dependence on party manifestoes thus ignoring the Directive Principles of State Policy. Development is thus not progressive but disjointed and depends on which party is in power
    • A Council of State which is merely advisory and has no power to serve as a check on the Executive
    • A National Mindset of Dependency Syndrome and Entitlement Mentality which has resulted in lack of effective mobilization of the populace by the political and traditional leadership. A national psyche that does not promote self-reliance and the can-do spirit
    • A Governance System which tries to copy Westminster and American systems instead of a home-grown system which suits our situation and promotes development
    • An Educational System that fails to build problem-solving abilities and patriotism into the youth and fails to make them proud of being Africans
    • A Very Strong Religious Atmosphere which feeds on superstition and does not enable the teeming members to transform their mindset and focus on teachings which promote hard work, wealth creation and prosperity

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