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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 -
Unwrapped: The Story of a Shepherd Boy
Unwrapped is a deep and sincere account of how one can not only live well but also carve out a very impressive career that contributes to a better world. Abraham Mnzava’s account of his life demonstrates how one can contribute to improving health and eventually alleviating poverty by hard work. Moreover, Unwrapped reminds us that the basis for success relies not only on skills and determination but on partnerships that bridge systems and cultures, though this should be coupled with a deep respect for ones’ roots.
“If we do not know where we come from, we will not know where we are going to.”
However, if we are too attached to the past, we cannot be open to the future. The insight into the life of Abraham Mnzava provided by Unwrapped offers hope for the future for many of us across the globe.
₵125.00 -
Aluta Insomnia
This book of reflections is about a Ghana boy who travels within his country and around the world, sharing the anecdotes graciously. Whether it is a visit to see the US President at the White House or a trip to an Ada village called Totimehkope, each story is down a memory lane that is paved with nuggets of wisdom. The work showcases the beauty of being alive to the moral and developmental happenings around us. The author’s capacity to smell and milk story ideas from the most mundane scenario is remarkable.
A neurosurgeon by profession, his words cut and heal clinically in equal measure. Page after page, he operates as in the theatre − precise, penetrating, productive. If you love the brilliance of Ernest Hemingway and Ayi Kwei Armah, you will never stop reading Teddy Totimeh.
Sometimes, you do not know what you did right to be rewarded with a priceless gem. Aluta Insomnia is one such gift!
₵90.00Aluta Insomnia
₵90.00 -
Just Between Us: Highly Sensitive Matrimonial Love Letters
If you had the opportunity to write a critical letter to your spouse, what would the content of that letter be, especially if no one else but just the two of you would ever know what you wrote?
In Just Between Us, twenty-four love-constrained people, having travelled several years into their matrimony, write letters to their spouses, revealing top secrets, scandalous confessions, bizarre observations, childish suspicions, irreversible regrets, real fear, unbelievable actions, and even laughable inhibitions – all of them quite shocking and a bit disturbing.
“This is a work of fiction,” admits the author, “the figment of a fertile imagination.” Yet, this product of the author’s thought is so real that it will challenge your own wildest ideas about matrimonial relationships.
You will find the stories in these letters to be highly sensitive and sometimes uncomfortable, but they are unforgettable and deeply touching.
₵25.00 -
Letters to Nnaa Naama
Letters to Nnaa Naama is a collection of the author’s experiences, thoughts, feelings and expectations during a 10-month stay in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the United States of America. In these letters, she takes the reader on an imaginary journey, focusing on aspects of the USA she thinks Ghana could learn from in order to be a prosperous nation.
Nnaa Naama (Grandmother Naama) is the name of her maternal grandmother. The author uses her to represent the ordinary Ghanaian citizen. It is the hope of the author that this book will cause a transformation in the psyche of the Ghanaian, that the prosperity of this country lies in the hands of each and every Ghanaian citizen
₵50.00Letters to Nnaa Naama
₵50.00 -
Safe House: Explorations in Creative Nonfiction
In a collection of creative essays that ranges from travel writing and memoir to reportage, Ellah Wakatama Allfrey brings together some of the most talented writers of creative nonfiction from across Africa.
A Ghanaian explores the increasing influence of China across the region; a Kenyan student activist writes of exile in Kampala; a Liberian scientist shares her diary of the Ebola crisis; a Nigerian writer travels to the north to meet a community at risk; a Kenyan travels to Senegal to interview a gay rights activist and a South African writer recounts a tale of family discord and murder in a remote seaside town.
This anthology contains a range of unforgettable stories by authors from across Africa and presents personal views of contemporary issues in an accessible and thought-provoking manner.
₵100.00 -
The Reminder
The Reminder is a compilation of common inspirational themes written in very different perspectives. It focuses on the practicality of these themes by drawing them from daily occurrences that we are likely to ignore. A book written in three parts: first part includes inspirations drawn out of the book of Esther, second part sheds light on the inspirations we’re likely to miss out on in our daily walk and finally, the third part is a collection of real success stories and testimonies of various people. Each chapter begins with a poem most of which were written by the author.
A charity driven book. This means proceeds go to support charitable works of some charitable foundations.
₵20.00The Reminder
₵20.00
