• Closing the Books: Governor Edward Carstensen on Danish Guinea (1842-50)

    Sitting on the terrace of the royal plantation Frederiksgave, his favourite retreat, Governor Edward Carstensen came to see the inevitable: Denmark had to give up her “possessions” in Africa. As fate would have it, he came to be the instrument by which two centuries of Danish involvement on the Gold Coast was terminated, thereby making way for the emergence of the colonial system that developed there.

    After the abolition of the slave trade, Denmark had struggled to find ways and means to legitimate her continued stay at the Coast. At an early stage the Danes initiated a number of attempts to establish experimental plantations to cultivate export crops such as cotton, coffee and sugar. But a transition from slave trade to “legitimate” products required stability and peace, and a need for control, which the rather limited Danish presence was not able to maintain.

    Closing the Books comprises a compilation of the official reports that the last Danish Governor sent home during his term of office at the Gold Coast. The reports reflect his personal views regarding the economic and political situations there, as well as his ideas on the “civilization of Africa”.

  • In Attendance: On and Off Campus – A Personal Diary

    In Attendance is the third in a series of autobiographical reflections by Ebow Daniel, who spent a 34-year career at the University of Ghana, the last ten of which saw him as Registrar – a role which, its prominence notwithstanding, he self-deprecatingly describes as bureaucrat, rather than academic; in academia, but not of it; also present at the Academic Board, but does not count for quorum; to be seen, but not heard, neither Present’ nor ‘Absent,’ in the minutes, only ‘In Attendance.’ Forewords generously contributed to In Attendance by H. E. Mrs Agnes Y. Aggrey-Orleans (Retired Diplomat), Kojo Yankah, founder, African University College of Communications (AUCC) and Ivan Addae-Mensah, Emeritus Professor of Chemistry and Former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, provide compelling reason to read this book.

    Following Mr. Registrar, published in 1999 and A Tale of Cape Coast published in 2004, In Attendance is a book of many parts. Beyond the autobiographical insights it provides in its vignettes, it recounts, within well-researched contextual accounts of colonial and post-colonial educational policy, the foundational stories of Adisadel College and the University of Ghana, both alma maters of the author. In Attendance also presents, with liberal doses of the author’s characteristic humour, the author’s educational and professional journey – and people encountered, some in wistful detail – from early days in Sekondi through to his professional life in Legon and to his post retirement life in Kigali, Rwanda; in the Office of President J. A. Kuffuor at the Osu Castle and Jubilee House; and, to final retirement at Another Den, his home in Tema. The author’s reflections on higher education in Ghana, on the political experiment that Ghana is, on religion, on Freemasonry, and on the role of the latter in his life, all presented in a unique style of writing, make for fascinating reading. Foreshadowing his demise in 2019, the titles of final parts of In Attendance – At the Confessional, Homestretch, In Memoriam, Nothing now Remains, Curtain, End of Story and – Final Call belie his humorous depiction of life’s lessons.

  • A Legacy of Service to Humanity- Brig. Gen. Joseph Nunoo-Mensah

    In the book “A Legacy of Service to Humanity” author Korletey Jorbua Obuadey reveals to the reader the humanitarian activities of Brigadier General Joseph Nunoo-Mensah. The book inspires all especially the youth of Africa to service to our fellow country men and women and to our nation.

  • Red Oak Heroes Series: Kofi Annan

    *Available from 15 August 2023

    Age Range: 10 – 14 years

    From the day Awo, a seven-year-old primary two girl, first hears about Mr. Kofi Annan, the former United Nations Secretary-General, she becomes so fascinated by his great achievements that she vows to become like him.
    With the help of everyone she comes across, her Uncle, Mr. Thompson especially, Awo learns as much as she can about her role model. Her curious questions often jog the memories of those who answer them, causing them to remember even the least things they know about the first black African to occupy the United Nation Secretary-General position. Having secured her mother’s promise to take her along to visit Mr. Annan the next time he is in the country, Awo’s only prayer is for that day to come quickly. But will Awo’s dream ever come to pass?

  • Critical and Biographical Essays of Nana Dr. S.K.B. Asante: From an African Village to the Global Village and Back (Hardcover)

    Few Ghanaians of any generation have had a career as long, as varied, and as consequential as Nana S.K.B. Asante’s: government attorney; law teacher; international public servant; constitution framer; adviser to sovereign parties; commercial arbitrator; public intellectual; traditional monarch. Just as impressive is the fact that, in each of these substantial roles, Nana has left a trail of writings. My own first encounter with Nana’s scholarship happened during my time at Yale Law School, his alma mater. As an editor on the law review, I was curious to know whether any Ghanaian had been published by the prestigious journal. My search led me to a fascinating article on Ghanaian property and customary law written by Samuel K.B. Asante in the 1965 volume of the journal. At the time of my discovery, his was the only article by a Ghanaian published in the 100-year history of the journal. I would later discover many more of his academic writings, some of which I assigned to my class in my years as a law teacher.

    This book collects in one volume some of Nana’s mostly “non-academic” writings. The essays tell, in characteristically fine prose rich in biography and history, the story of an intellectual-technocrat keen to use his wealth of knowledge to address contemporary problems of development and to put that expertise in the service of his country–and of the developing world at large. The publication of this selection of Nana S.K.B. Asante’s writings, in the 90th year of his life, is a monumental accomplishment and a befitting capstone of a long and distinguished career.

    PROF. H. KWASI PREMPEH
    Executive Director of Ghana Center for Democratic Development

     

    The incredibly rich collection of writings by the eminent international lawyer, scholar, respected global development expert and prominent traditional ruler, Nana S.K.B Asante, takes the reader on a remarkable journey of nearly seven decades of illumination. His vivid experiences, enormous achievements and witty recollections reveal the remarkable growth of a curious mind and a disciplined intellectual dedicated ultimately to the service of humanity from his native village to the global village. In characteristic modesty, Nana claims not to be a historian, but this book is a historical gold mine filled with nuggets of analysis on the evolution of education, law, science, social policy, public service, constitutional development, nation building and chieftaincy in Ghana, enriched with valuable insights into the solid contributions of illustrious men and women. His penetrating and critical analyses of international development cooperation in the fields of investments, energy, water and natural resources in Asia and Africa must be lessons for all developing countries. This rich resource book is highly recommended.

    DR. AGNES AKOSUA AIDOO
    Former Social Policy Adviser, UN Economic Commission for Africa

     

    This masterpiece by Nana SKB Asante which narrates his life journey from his hometown at Asokore to Achimota, academia, diplomacy and finally back home is unique, inspiring and educative. The Book covers a broad spectrum of academic disciplines including constitutional law, commercial law, criminal law, international law, chieftaincy, leadership and governance, sociology, history and religions. It provides a vivid account of the constitutional history of Ghana from the author’s personal knowledge. The author who had the singular honour to chair the Committee of Experts which gave birth to Ghana’s 1992 Constitution also held the positions of Solicitor-General and Deputy Attorney-General under different democratic and military governments. Nana SKB Asante has used simple diction to convey his wealth of knowledge, experience and wisdom, acquired from both local and international levels in different capacities to inculcate in his audience the spirit of patriotism. The book is a must read!

    JUSTICE DENNIS DOMINIC ADJEI, FGA
    Justice of The Court of Appeal

  • Ansu’s Village

    Age Range: 4 – 7 years

    Have you ever been to a village?

    If you have not, Ansu is here to tell you all about his village and the exciting people who live there. The people in his village are kind and they love visitors. It seems that all the villagers have their opposites. Where there’s ‘a big’ there’s ‘a small’. Where there’s ‘a weak’ there’s ‘a strong’.

    Together they are all happy and make Ansu feel at home.

  • Philosophy, Culture and Vision: African Perspectives

    Believing that the intellectual enterprise called philosophy is essentially a part of the cultural as well as historical experience of a people, that the concepts and problems that occupy the attention of philosophers placed in different cultural spaces or historical times generally derive directly from those spaces and times, and that philosophy, in turn, has been most relevant to the development of human cultures, the Ghanaian philosopher Kwame Gyekye gives reflective attention in this book to some of the concepts and problems that in his view feature most prominently in the contemporary African cultural, social, political, and moral experience. Such concepts and problems include the following: political legitimacy, development, culture and the pursuit of science and technology, political corruption, democracy, representation and the politics of inclusion, the status of cultural values in national orientation, understanding globalization, and others. It is these topics that are covered in the essays collected in this book.

    The unrelenting pursuit of the speculative activity by the philosopher in most cases eventuates in normative proposals; these normative proposals often embody a vision-a vision of an ideal human society in terms of its values, politics, and culture. Vision, understood here, has human-not supernatural or divine-origination and involvement and requires action by human beings in order for it to come into reality. A vision may derive from sustained critical evaluation of a culture or some elements of it. Gyekye attempts an articulation of the visions of the essays contained in the book.

    Even though philosophical ideas and concerns are originally inspired by and worked out in a cultural milieu, it does not necessarily follow, Gyekye strongly believes, that the relevance of those ideas and insights is to be tetheed to the cultures that produced them. For, more often than not, the relevance of those ideas, or at least some of them, transcends the confines of their own times and cultures and can be appreciated by other societies, or cultures, or generational epochs. This trans-cultural or trans-epochal or meta-contextual appeal or attraction of philosophical ideas and insights spawned by a particular culture or cluster of cultures or in specific historical times is to be put down to our common human nature-including our basic human desires and aspirations. Thus, most of the essays published here should be of interest to the global community-i.e., to cultures and societies beyond the African.

  • 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

  • Special Book Launch Set: Autographed Hardcover of From Achinakrom to Pro-Vice Chancellor (plus paperback and Emancipation book)

    This is a special launch set – limited – that includes an autographed copy of the hardcover of Prof Florence Dolphyne’s new autobiography, a paperback version of the autobiography and a copy of her best-selling book The Emancipation of Women: An African Perspective.

    Blurb for the Autobiography

    An autobiography serves the purpose of relating experiences of the writer. These are usually personal experiences and readers can draw inspiration from such experiences.

    This is a book written by a renowned academician, but unlike many books written by academics, it reads like a story written by an accomplished novelist. It tells the story of a girl of very humble parentage who was able, by dint of hard work and divine providence, to make it to the very apex of academia. It is a book that tells the story of ‘Mmofraturo’, synonymous with the training of girls to influence their world before the advent of militant feminism. It is a story that gives another peep at the practice of racism in Europe.

    But then, it is also the book that confirms the subtle discrimination that women are often subjected to in our education system, even at the highest level.

    Moreover, it is a story that tells the history of the practice of education in Ghana over a number of decades. Then, the writer draws us into the age-old issue of family life, foster children, biological children, and the Ghanaian family set up.

    From Achinakrom to Pro-Vice Chancellor is a book about friendship and love that tells the story of women, individually and in groups trying to help make others enjoy the life of work and leisure. Furthermore, this book gives a hint that speaking one’s first language can be the source of the survival of an individual in certain critical situations.

    This inspiring story is also a personal history of Ghana from pre-independence by someone who has helped to shape Ghana’s education system, women’s rights during the UN Decade for Women, and human rights through Ghana’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It is a story of a phenomenal woman who has made Ghana and Achinakrom proud.

  • Ahafo & Bono Regions In Historical Perspective

    In the centre of Ghana once straddled the Brong-Ahafo Region. It was noted for its beautiful geographical features as well as its rich natural and human resources. The maxim, unity in diversity, a cherished Ghanaian quintessential trait, was exemplified in the region by the peaceful and harmonious coexistence of multiple ethnic groups. On the eve of its Diamond Jubilee, the Region was split into three: Bono, Bono East and Ahafo Regions to promote the speedy development of the area.

    This book gives a historical overview of the erstwhile region with respect to culture, its achievements and legacy. It also showcases the endowments of the new regions carved out of it. The contents are rich in information, data and photographs of historic people and events which historians, politicians, scholars, tourists, and people interested in issues concerning indigenous African societies and the general reader, will find to be invaluable.

    “This book provides a succinct glimpse into the erstwhile Brong-Ahafo Region in terms of history, achievements and legacy and also showcases the resources of the three new regions created out of Brong-Ahafo. Through the pages of this book, we can always remember our past, our common history and ancestry, and thereby remain united although physically we will be in separate regions.” – From the Foreword

  • Towards Colonial Freedom: Africa in the Struggle Against World Imperialism

    Africa in the struggle against world imperialism. This little classic was completed in 1945. In the words of the author: “Most of the points I made then have been borne out to the letter and confirmed by subsequent developments in Africa and Asia.

  • Proceedings of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences & The J.B. Danquah Memorial Lecture, Series 3 (Volume VIII, 1970)

    Proceedings, 1970. This issue contains the third series of the J.B. Danquah Memorial Lectures delivered by R.K.A. Gardiner in 1970.

    Contents

    The Role of Educated Persons in Ghana Society – R.K.A. Gardiner (The J.B. Danquah Memorial Lecture, Series 3)

    Law Reform in Ghana in the 1970s – Justice N.A. Ollennu

    Africa and the European Economic Community – Professor J.C. de Graft-Johnson

    The Dilemma of the Scientist – Professor D.A. Bekoe

    The Intellectual and the Meeting of Disciplines – Dr. Letitia E. Obeng

    The Creative Arts and the Community – Professor J.H. Nketia

    Faith and Reason – Professor K.A. Dickson

    Some Concepts of Medical Education in Ghana – Professor C.O. Easmon

    Training and Employment of Technicians in Ghana – J.G. O’Barka Torto

    Technology and Culture – Professor K.E. de Graft-Johnson

    Some Aspects of Agricultural Research in Ghana – Professor Kankam Twum-Barima

    Social and Educational Factors Relevant to Agricultural Progress in Ghana – S. La-Anyare

    Clinical Research in the Ghana Medical School – Professor E.A. Badoe

    The State of Research in Applied Genetics in Ghana – Professor Ebenezer Laing

  • Quotes by NAD

    Call it an anthology of quotes, poems, prose or common sense, Quotes by NAD is a potpourri of witty statements and thoughts of a citizen for citizens bold enough to face the truth.

    The collection is a throwback of Nana Awere Damoah’s Facebook posts over the past years weighing on relevant issues that made the headlines and digested extensively nationwide.

    Quotes by NAD

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