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Title: Africa for the Africans
Review: Very well written & I read it from cover to cover - fuming. I've lived in East & South Africa for most of my life although I was exiled in England for 17 years. Never mind that Theroux has also lived in Africa, he is a miserable depressed man who has no empathy whatever of either the difficulties nor the pleasures of this continent. It's all very well for him to criticize the governance & the efficiency of this continent, I do so as well, but most African countries like Kenya, even more delightful Tanganyika, are dirt poor in resources & the plutocracy is tiny. All the Brits go on about the White farmers, the Happy Valley set & so on but the fact is that making a living here is a pretty hardscrabble life. The wonder is that almost all Africans are friendly & helpful, really some of the nicest people on Earth! Of course, it does help to approach them as human beings, be outgoing & speak a useful language like Swahili.
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