During the four years he spent in black Africa as the bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times, David Lamb traveled through almost every country south of the Sahara, logging more than 300,000 miles. He talked to presidents and guerrilla leaders, university professors and witch doctors. He bounced from wars to coups oceans apart, catching midnight flights to little-known countries where supposedly decent people were doing unspeakable things to one another. In the tradition of John Gunther's Inside Africa, The Africans is an extraordinary combination of analysis and adventure. Part travelogue, part contemporary history, it is a portrait of a continent that sometimes seems hell-bent on destroying itself, and of people who are as courageous as they are long-suffering. "Essential reading for an understanding of modern-day Africa" -- The New York Times Book Review

"A rare overview of the wild and frequently unreported developments on the world's second-largest continent... an intelligent and powerful argument for sanity and humanity." -- The Philadelphia Inquirer

"A primer for all of us who don't know enough about the Dark Continent...a fascinating and important book"

-- Playboy

"A thoroughly clear-sighted, honest book that provides a political and social survey of the 46 countries of sub-Sahara Africa. -- Business Week