--- product_id: 54679203 title: "Fortunes of Africa: A 5,000 Year History of Wealth, Greed and Endeavour" price: "VT10545" currency: VUV in_stock: true reviews_count: 9 url: https://www.desertcart.vu/products/54679203-fortunes-of-africa-a-5-000-year-history-of-wealth store_origin: VU region: Vanuatu --- # Fortunes of Africa: A 5,000 Year History of Wealth, Greed and Endeavour **Price:** VT10545 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Fortunes of Africa: A 5,000 Year History of Wealth, Greed and Endeavour - **How much does it cost?** VT10545 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.vu](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/54679203-fortunes-of-africa-a-5-000-year-history-of-wealth) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Buy Fortunes of Africa: A 5,000 Year History of Wealth, Greed and Endeavour 1 by Meredith, Martin (ISBN: 9781471135453) from desertcart's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Review: Fascinating - Really fascinating account of African history from Egypt to the start of the 21st century. 675 pages excluding notes, index etc divided into chapters averaging 7 or 8 pages each to deal with different events in different countries. Sufficient depth to make the accounts interesting without the book having to spill over into a dozen volumes. A really interesting read, it achieves the task of providing an overview of the history of a continent in an engaging narrative. Highly recommended. Review: The invasions of Africa - I bought this book thinking that it is a 5000 year history of Africa. There are some chapters of this large book devoted to the internal history of Africa, particularly ancient Egypt and medieval/modern Ethiopia. But the great bulk of the book deals with invasions of Africa, mostly by Arabs and Europeans. I found this a little bit disappointing. I already know something about the history of Europe and the Islamic world, and their interactions with sub-Saharan Africa. I was hoping to learn a bit more about the story of Africa itself. It's not quite clear why the author doesn't tell us more about ancient and medieval sub-Saharan Africa. It may be that historians just don't know very much about it. But it would have been helpful at least outline what is known and what is not known. From chapter to chapter the book jumps around different locations in Africa rather than trying to present a general outline of the history of Africa. Most the the book deals with the modern period, with a particular focus on European explorers and invaders. The chapters on southern Africa, especially the Dutch and English invasions, are excellent. These chapters give an excellent account of the Boer invasions, the structure and politics of their societies, and their interactions with the much more powerful English. Unfortunately, we don't learn all that much about the African people of southern Africa who were subject to slavery and dispossession at the hands of the Europeans. Overall, this book absolutely fails to provide a coherent 5000 year history of Africa. Nonetheless, it provides an engaging account of various invasions of Africa by Europeans in modern times and to a lesser extent by Arabs in medieval and modern times. It's a big book with over 700 pages, but it is always interesting and difficult to put down. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | 194,625 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) 17,903 in History (Books) | | Customer reviews | 4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars (702) | | Dimensions | 13.3 x 5.9 x 20.1 cm | | Edition | 1st | | ISBN-10 | 1471135454 | | ISBN-13 | 978-1471135453 | | Item weight | 556 g | | Language | English | | Print length | 768 pages | | Publication date | 4 Jun. 2015 | | Publisher | Simon & Schuster UK | ## Images ![Fortunes of Africa: A 5,000 Year History of Wealth, Greed and Endeavour - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/817gT3CflqL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Fascinating *by J***N on 23 March 2025* Really fascinating account of African history from Egypt to the start of the 21st century. 675 pages excluding notes, index etc divided into chapters averaging 7 or 8 pages each to deal with different events in different countries. Sufficient depth to make the accounts interesting without the book having to spill over into a dozen volumes. A really interesting read, it achieves the task of providing an overview of the history of a continent in an engaging narrative. Highly recommended. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ The invasions of Africa *by S***O on 31 March 2023* I bought this book thinking that it is a 5000 year history of Africa. There are some chapters of this large book devoted to the internal history of Africa, particularly ancient Egypt and medieval/modern Ethiopia. But the great bulk of the book deals with invasions of Africa, mostly by Arabs and Europeans. I found this a little bit disappointing. I already know something about the history of Europe and the Islamic world, and their interactions with sub-Saharan Africa. I was hoping to learn a bit more about the story of Africa itself. It's not quite clear why the author doesn't tell us more about ancient and medieval sub-Saharan Africa. It may be that historians just don't know very much about it. But it would have been helpful at least outline what is known and what is not known. From chapter to chapter the book jumps around different locations in Africa rather than trying to present a general outline of the history of Africa. Most the the book deals with the modern period, with a particular focus on European explorers and invaders. The chapters on southern Africa, especially the Dutch and English invasions, are excellent. These chapters give an excellent account of the Boer invasions, the structure and politics of their societies, and their interactions with the much more powerful English. Unfortunately, we don't learn all that much about the African people of southern Africa who were subject to slavery and dispossession at the hands of the Europeans. Overall, this book absolutely fails to provide a coherent 5000 year history of Africa. Nonetheless, it provides an engaging account of various invasions of Africa by Europeans in modern times and to a lesser extent by Arabs in medieval and modern times. It's a big book with over 700 pages, but it is always interesting and difficult to put down. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A heroic overview of the history of a continent *by M***J on 15 November 2020* This book is well written and aimed at the general reader. (Meredith writes with the style of a good journalist rather than a specialist academic.) It attempts to give an overview of the whole history of the whole continent Africa. Inevitably it treats different periods and places with different levels of detail. Although sub-Saharan Africa is very different from the northern coast of Africa, which is part of the Mediterranean world, looking at both in the same book is interesting, particularly to see the impact which North Africa had on sub-Saharan Africa via overland trade routes. The book is more detailed on the history of English-speaking southern Africa, but is also a useful introduction to the history of Portuguese and French activity in Africa, which is probably less familiar to English-speaking readers. For example, it is very interesting to understand that the North African peoples were acquiring gold and slaves in sub-Saharan Africa before the Europeans got there, and that the Portuguese were active in West Africa quite some time before Columbus made it to the West Indies. Although this book is not aimed at an academic audience, if you are interested in finding out more about specific aspects, it does have useful references to further reading at the end of the book. This provides a guide to more detailed and more academic works. For example, on the subject of African slavery it points to Paul Lovejoy's authoritative and well written academic work, Transformations in Slavery - A History of Slavery in Africa. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.vu/products/54679203-fortunes-of-africa-a-5-000-year-history-of-wealth](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/54679203-fortunes-of-africa-a-5-000-year-history-of-wealth) --- *Product available on Desertcart Vanuatu* *Store origin: VU* *Last updated: 2026-05-11*