• Bookset: The Trial of J.J. Rawlings & Ogyakrom: The Missing Pages of June 4th (2 books)

    Two prolific writers, brothers. One tumultuous period in Ghana’s history. One significant personality.
    Same perspectives or different? Get this set and find out.

    About the Trial of JJ Rawlings

    The Trial of JJ Rawlings narrates the extraordinary circumstances under which a young military officer Flt Lt JJ Rawlings, later to become the longest serving Head of State of Ghana, shot into the limelight to change the course of Ghana’s history and political development.The first edition of the book, originally published in 1986, completely sold out within a year, making this second edition very welcome in response to public request.

    This volume is a valuable contribution to our understanding of those ineluctable forces that have changed the contours of our society. Surely, the story of JJ, well told in this volume, cannot fail to grip and hold the reader’s most concentrated attention. – Prof F.A. Botchwey, PhD

     

    About Ogyakrom: The Missing Pages of June 4th

    The present volume represents landmarks within 22 months of Yankah’s weekly column in The Catholic Standard, from January 1979 to March 1980. It is inspired by topical issues in two military regimes (General F Akuffo’s SMC 2, Rawlings’ June 4th Revolution) and one civilian government (Hilla Limann’s PNP). This compilation altogether allows a veiled peep into the most turbulent period in Ghana’s political history, Rawlings’ June 4th Revolution, including preceding events and the aftermath of the Revolution. In the words of Dr Anthony Bonnah Koomson, Editor of The Catholic Standard at the time of Yankah’s celebrated column: “The book captures a momentous era in Ghana’s immediate political history, reminiscences of which the author has sough to recreate and preserve with phenomenal linguistic skill. It presents, through satire, an accurate heartbeat of a people under intense political paralysis.”

    This book makes compelling, even if hilarious, reading on Ghana’s enigmatic June 4th Revolution.

     

  • Sam: A Life of Service to God and Country

    Lawyer. Politician. Democracy and human rights activist. Prisoner of conscience. Rotarian. Father. Grandfather.

    These are among the many roles Sam Okudzeto is most proud of. In his very easy-to-read memoir, SAM: A Life of Service to God and Country, he describes the journey from his village childhood, through his education in Europe, and finally to his life in the legal profession, politics and civil society of Ghana. As one who personally knew many of Ghana’s founding fathers and giants, and was active in politics during the seminal moments after independence, he offers a unique perspective of the people and events that shaped the history of Ghana and the growth of its democracy. He sheds light on the origins of many issues and shares his regrets such of the boycott by the legal profession during the drafting of the current Constitution in 1992 and the impact that boycott has had on national governance.

    In this must-read memoir, he shares many lessons from a life spent on the frontlines of human endeavor. Now in his 80s, and with a life well-lived, Sam Okudzeto hopes that the current generation of Ghana will continue to build upon the foundation laid by his pioneering generation.

    “Uncle Sam as some of us know him is iconic. He is larger than life in his profession, his faith and his service to humanity. His memoir deepens our respect for his intellect and joie de vivre and provide steps for us to emulate his rich and blessed life.” – Rev. Dr. Joyce Aryee, Executive Director, Salt & Light Ministries, Management and Communications Consultant
    “There are people you meet in life who change you. Their goodness, their kindness, their willingness to speak out for what is just and right make you look at the world in a different light. They inspire you simply by being themselves. Sam is one of those persons in my life. He is a giant in the field of law. In the fifteen years I have known him I have witnessed endless times where he has brought insight and compassion and leadership to the issues at hand. I have been in awe of Sam for these many years. Someone once said that fate chooses out relatives, we choose our friends. My friendship with Sam is cherished gift.” – Dr. Mark S. Ellis, Executive Director, International Bar Association
    “Sam’s reputation as a redoubtable and fearless advocate for the rule the law, truth and integrity has won him the respect and admiration of his peers, juniors and even his harshest critics. He is indeed a legal colossus, a true patriot with a strong moral character and an unswerving passion for pursuing the cause of right without fear of might. He is a very warm and wonderful, human being – a selfless, compassionate lover of people who seeks the good, happiness and progress of others. Above all else, Sam is a man of faith who loves the Lord with all his heart.” – Her Ladyship Georgina T. Wood, Former Chief Justice of Ghana
  • The Teller of Secrets (HarperVia Edition)

    In this stunning debut novel—a tale of self-discovery and feminist awakening—a feisty Nigerian-Ghanaian girl growing up amid the political upheaval of late 1960s postcolonial Ghana begins to question the hypocrisy of her patriarchal society, and the restrictions and unrealistic expectations placed on women.

    Young Esi Agyekum is the unofficial “secret keeper” of her family, as tight-lipped about her father’s adultery as she is about her half-sisters’ sex lives. But after she is humiliated and punished for her own sexual exploration, Esi begins to question why women’s secrets and men’s secrets bear different consequences. It is the beginning of a journey of discovery that will lead her to unexpected places.

    As she navigates her burgeoning womanhood, Esi tries to reconcile her own ideals and dreams with her family’s complicated past and troubled present, as well as society’s many double standards that limit her and other women. Against a fraught political climate, Esi fights to carve out her own identity, and learns to manifest her power in surprising and inspiring ways.

    Funny, fresh, and fiercely original, The Teller of Secrets marks the American debut of one of West Africa’s most exciting literary talents.

  • 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

  • Our Motherland – My Life

    Our Motherland – My Life chronicles the remarkable life of a true Ghanaian patriot who has been an active participant and observer in Ghanaian political transitions. His African cultural influences are undergirded by his deep spiritual belief in articulating the needs of Ghana and Africa as an influential communicator. His leadership legacy as a visionary will be remembered for generations to come as one of the best Ghanaian and Pan Africanist thinkers of his generation.

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