The Unseen Africa
May 25 is Africa Day. Also, 2020 is the 60th anniversary of the Year of Africa (when 17 African countries gained independence).
Therefore, May 25, 2020, is an auspicious day to launch my book, The Unseen Africa: 5 Years of Nonstop Overland Travel to All 54 African Countries.
Although I've already written over 300,000 words, I've only completed a fifth of the book.
That doesn't mean it will be a 1.5-million-word book!
It just means that I have a lot to do, including deleted a bunch.
The mock book cover on this page is just that: a mock-up.
The final version will look completely different.
However, in the comments below, you can offer what you think should be on the cover.
I just know that I do NOT want an acacia tree on the cover because so many Africa books have that cliche.
Do you want to read the chapters as I write them?
If so, join my exclusive Patreon tribe!
It's the only way to become a Beta Reader of my future book. The benefits include:
- I will carefully listen to your editorial suggestions.
- You will read the book 1 year before it is released to the public.
- I will mail you an autographed physical copy!
The structure of the book is similar to The Hidden Europe. In other words, I will dedicate one chapter per country. Below is the preliminary TOC the numbers that follow each line is the current page number (that will change since the book will be over 700 pages).
Table of Contents
Introduction: Into the Heart of Brightness 5
0. Spain: An Unseen Part of Africa 15
1. Morocco: Gateway to Africa 19
2. Mauritania: A Desert Dreamscape 40
3. Senegal: Land of the Beautiful People 59
4. Gambia: A Sliver On a River 66
5. Cape Verde: Africa for Beginners 80
6. Guinea Bissau: Sex, Drugs, and Lock and Load 86
7. Guinea: West Africa’s Guinea Pig 97
8. Sierra Leone: Mud Diamonds 112
9. Liberia: American Africans 123
10. Côte D’Ivoire: Rebuilding the Miracle 132
11. Mali: Divided We Stand 141
12. Burkina Faso: The Optimists 153
13. Ghana: West Africa’s Not-So-Shining Example 165
14. Togo: Africa’s Most Depressed Country 181
15. Benin: Spiritual, But Not Spooky 194
16. Niger: The Fastest Growing Nation 253
17. Cameroon: Mini-Africa 288
17a. Rejoice: A Remarkable African Life Story 295
18. Nigeria: Africa’s Behemoth 333
19. São Tomé and Príncipe: A Wanna Be Island Paradise 370
20. Equatorial Guinea: A Failed Wakanda 373
21. Gabon: I Paid Too Much, But It Was Worth It 378
22. The Republic of Congo: The Unseen Congo 386
23. Angola: Much Better Than You Imagine 391
24. Namibia: The Best Country in Mainland Africa 399
25. South Africa: Shame 404
26. Lesotho: The Mountain Kingdom 436
27. Swaziland: Africa’s Last True Monarchy 438
28. Botswana: Landlocked and Loving It 441
29. Zimbabwe: The Post-Mugabe Era 451
30. Zambia: A Rising Star 477
31. Malawi: Crowded but Beautiful 483
32. Mozambique: The New Natural Resource King? 488
33. Madagascar: The Eighth Continent 492
34. Mauritius: Where India and Africa Merge 500
35. Seychelles: Small is Beautiful 500
36. Comoros: Comoro-who? 501
37. Burundi: Source of the Nile and Problems 504
38. Rwanda: Miracle or Mirage? 506
39. Uganda: Gorilla Highlands 520
40. South Sudan: The World’s Newest Country 523
41. Democratic Republic of Congo: The World’s Biggest Failure 525
42. Central African Republic: Africa’s Heart Attack 547
43. Chad: The Fastest Dying Nation 551
44. Libya: Fractured 555
45. Sudan: The Most Hospitable Country 557
46. Eritrea: The Orwellian Nation 560
47. Ethiopia: The Exception . . . Sort of 569
48. Djibouti: A Promising Inferno 580
49. Somalia: Location, Location, Degradation 582
50. Kenya: Silicon Savannah 585
51. Tanzania: Wild for a While Longer 607
52. Algeria: Africa’s Giant 618
53. Tunisia: Jasmine Revolution Aftermath 620
54. Egypt: Africa’s Ancient Star 623
Conclusion: Why Is Africa the Way That It Is? 630
Epilogue: We Are All Africans 636
About the Author 645
Quotes 648
Endorsements
I'm thrilled to get my first celebrity endorsement! More to come!
“Francis is awesome. Buy the book.” – Charley Boorman, author of A Long Way Down
