Africa Is Not a Country

”[An] acerbic debut…Faloyin is bent on examining and demolishing [stereotypes about Africa], a task he carries out with verve.” – Michela Wrong - New York Times
“Powerful and heartfelt…Faloyin has written a book inspired by love and hope for a much-abused and maligned continent, whose future, he insists, is filled with promise.” – PD Smith - Guardian
“Faloyin [is] a smart, often scathingly funny writer…While much of the history of Western involvement in Africa is sordid and depressing, Africa Is Not a Country is not. It brims with the sort of outrage that speaks of hope, of change.” – Bookpage (starred review)
“With clarity and incisive wit, journalist Faloyin explores the origins of the 54 countries of Africa…Africa Is Not a Country [is] a forceful rebuttal of erased histories and simplified imagery as well as a celebration of a continent already living its dynamic future.” – Booklist (starred review)
“A spirited critique of Western misrepresentations of Africa…[E]xuberant and informative.” – Publishers Weekly
“Trenchant…A well-researched, cleareyed deconstruction of highly flawed conventional wisdom about Africa.” – Kirkus Reviews
“A necessary book that deserves its place in the canon as essential reading for anyone seeking an introduction to this vast continent—as well as the rest of us, who need to be regularly challenged on what we think we know about Africa and the damage done by that.” – Sally Hayden - Irish Times
“Warm, funny, biting and essential reading.” – Adam Rutherford, author of How to Argue With a Racist
“A brilliant, prescient exploration of a richly complex continent. An antidote for our times.” – Irenosen Okojie, author of Nudibranch
“This book is hilarious, ferocious, generous, and convincing. It made me reconsider almost everything I thought I knew about Africa, which is somewhere we often hear about, but far too rarely hear from.” – Oliver Bullough, author of Moneyland
“An impeccably researched work, brimming with humor and intellect. A necessary read for 2022.” – J K Chukwu, author of The Unfortunates
“A triumph of a book. A charismatic and hugely enjoyable read packed full of essential information—revealing a huge, vastly diverse set of stories, situations, and histories that really do pop the balloon of lazy stereotyping of Africa. You’d be doing yourself a disservice if you didn’t read this book.” – Nels Abbey, coauthor of Think Like a White Man
“This book should be on the curriculum.” – Nikki May, author of Wahala

Dipo Faloyin is a senior editor at VICE, where he focuses on race, culture, and identity around the world. His writing has appeared in Dazed, Prospect, and HuffPost. Born in Chicago, raised in Lagos, he now lives in London.

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