4 out of 4 stars
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It's puzzling how some societies in today's world have such a rich and well-documented history, e.g Europeans, Asians, and Americans while the history of black Africans is virtually unknown. Africa is the origin of mankind, there should be truckloads of data about those who walked the continent way before it's modern-day inhabitants. What happened to the history of black Africans? What really is the history of black Africans? These are the questions that Reginald Stanley Sinkler seeks to answer in his book The Powerful Facts You Don't Know About the History of Blacks.
This nonfiction book lists over 50 facts about various accomplishments of the ancient Egyptians and the Nile Valley inhabitants, most of which have been deliberately omitted from history. It is commendable that the author has done his fair share of research, including traveling to these now forgotten places, thus amplifying the veracity of his work.
At the time, the ancient society had achieved great milestones in medicine, architecture, organized education, astronomy, and mathematics. This had people from far and wide embarking on a treacherous journey to these places to get educated. It is said that their schools were so prestigious that even those who didn't go claiming that they did. The huge contrast between the reputation of the continent during that time period and it's present state leaves a lot to be desired. That coupled with the rest of the world's perception of the place, highlighted by President Trump's less than a colorful description of Africa and Africans, in general, says it all.
At the beginning of the book, the author provides a timeline of the world, dating all the way from 27000 BC to 2000 AD. It shows periods of time when various societies flourished and came in handy when I couldn't place certain events in perspective. There are also colored pictures of ancient artifacts that date back to Africa sprinkled throughout the book. A brief description is given of how far back these artifacts date, plus their historical significance. These do a brilliant job of brightening up and enriching the reading experience.
When selected this book, I was heavy with expectation and I'm glad that I was more than impressed. I especially liked that the author uses a simple, conversational tone to explain his findings. Each of the facts is brief and to the point with just enough material to keep the reader glued while pondering about them. The author also includes YouTube links to the works of various accomplished scholars to amplify his message. This makes it a suitable read for readers who would like to seek further information on topics that interest them.
The author is an African American but his aim is not to condemn anyone for any wrongdoing. He seeks to educate the general public about facts unknown to them while brushing on the themes of climate change, power struggle, historical injustices, and racism. He also hits the nail on the head by posing the question of why this information isn't taught in schools and hopes that future historians will do black people the courtesy of recognizing their race's contribution to humanity.
Although this was an enjoyable read, I did run into a few errors, which are a misplaced hyphen and misspelled words e.g on page 32 ('say' instead of 'saw'). Besides that, the major complaint is that most of the text of the book is written in bold. Although this doesn't detract from the reading experience, a consistency in the formatting will do great justice to the visual appeal of the book. These minor setbacks could easily be reconciled with a round of editing.
After giving it some thought, I will rate this book 4 out of 4 stars and recommend it to anyone interested in world history and anyone with the color red flowing in their veins. As the author puts it, "there is but one race, the human race."
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The Powerful Facts You Don't Know-About The History of Blacks
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