$12.99 on Kindle, Nook, Apple Books, Kobo, Google PlayA History of Madagascar by Mervyn Brown (163,000 words, 41 illustrations)
Madagascar, the 4th largest island in the world, is a unique blend of Asian and African culture, well known as the home of some of the world’s most unusual and most endangered flora and fauna, from lemurs to giant tortoises. Although so close to the east coast of Africa, where traces of human existence go back hundreds of thousands of years, Madagascar was uninhabited until about 2,000 years ago when seafaring peoples from present-day Indonesia reached it. The book examines the origins of the Malagasy, the early contacts with Europeans, the struggle for influence in the 19th century between the British and the French, Madagascar’s colonial period from 1896 to 1960, recovery of independence and subsequent history up to the early 1990s.
“Mervyn Brown, British Ambassador there from 1967 to 1970 and again from 1976 to 1978, has sought in this book, to ‘rediscover, for the benefit of English-speaking readers, the past history of a fascinating island and people’... To this task he has brought a mastery of the Malagasy language... an evidently close acquaintance with the geography of Madagascar, a thorough knowledge of the scholarly literature about the island, and the ability to write lucidly and, on occasion, vividly... This is a book which can be warmly recommended not only to anyone interested in Madagascar but to all those interested in African affairs or the history of Europe’s relations with the Third World.” — Kenneth Robinson, African Affairs
“This work is a fascinating hybrid... the insights offered, in the first section from original archival research and in the second from first-hand experience, combined with the contrasting styles, make it both readable and... a worthwhile purchase for the professional historian.” — Gwyn Campbell, The Journal of African History
“[A] highly readable, in places entertaining, introduction to the history, politics and people of Madagascar... Brown has carefully researched a wide range of contemporary European accounts of Madagascar.” — Rachel Rakotonirina, African Research & Documentation
“[A]n admirable work in its own way, for at last we have a popular presentation of Malagasy history in English. The charm and fluency of narration keep the uninitiated reading.” — Gerald M. Berg, African Studies Review
“A highly readable, entertaining introduction to the history, politics and people of Madagascar.” — West Africa
“The book is aimed at a wide readership, which it deserves.” — Stephen Ellis, The Journal of African History