Long established as a standard work, this famous survey explores the history of Africa from earliest times to the end of the colonial period. It is exceptional in its breadth (it provides systematic coverage of the entire continent, including the North), in its range (it establishes a clear political framework, but is still more concerned with social, economic and intellectual trends), and in its quality. Now in this major revision -- the first since 1979 -- its four distinguished authors have reworked, updated and expanded the text, which has also been redesigned and reset.