The compilers and authors of this voluminous - almost 450 pages - "Africa. History and Historians" (ed. Academician A. B. Davidson, Publishing House of the Higher School of Economics. 2014) at the very beginning clearly stated the goal: "... to try to understand how they see the past of their peoples and countries in Tropical and Southern Africa (once they said-Black Africa). And how they see the place of their past in the entire history of mankind."

By itself, the history of Africa goes back centuries, and it is devoted to multi-volume works published in different countries. Meanwhile, the historical science of the continent is very young: the first African historians appeared only at the end of the XIX century.

A small but creatively active group of scientists studying the history of Africa, headed by the Patriarch of Russian African Studies D. A. Olderogge (1903-1987), has long been formed in Russia. The authors of the book "Africa: History and Historians", which is a collection of scientific articles, are mainly scientists of the next generation.

The published works are an attempt to explain the phenomenon of the birth of African historical thought and its national branches in their conflict and interaction with the Western historical tradition. The analysis of forms of African historical thought is carried out in a broad cultural-historical, socio-political and intercivilizational contexts.

However, "collection of articles" is not an exact definition of the genre of work. The fact is that almost every article by a Russian author is accompanied by excerpts from the works of African historians, whose work is analyzed by our compatriot. Thus, after the article by Doctor of Historical Sciences S. V. Mazov "Historical themes in the works of Joseph Casley Hayford", a small but extremely capacious and informative text of this Ghanaian politician and journalist is published, in which he discusses the colonial policy of European powers. A article by M. S. Kurbak, Ph. D. in History "South Africa and the World through the eyes of J. M. Coetzee and N. Gordimer "(two South African writers awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature) is illustrated with excerpts from Coetzee's novel "Diary of a Bad Year" and N. Gordimer's interview with the New Statesman magazine. Thus, the reader learns about the position of an African historian not only in the "retelling" of the Russian author, but also, so to speak, firsthand.

And to whom do these lips belong? It is impossible not to admire the journalistic intensity of the article by the famous African-American William Dubois "The African Roots of War", published in 1915 and devoted to the analysis of the role of the colonial policy of Europeans in the outbreak of the First World War. And an in-depth analysis of the political and economic processes taking place in Africa, in the report of the founder, Prime Minister and President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah "Once again on African socialism", which he delivered at a representative seminar in Cairo in 1967.

All these and other works of political and public figures in Africa are nothing but primary sources. Of course, this is not all the primary sources in full, but only an insignificant part of them. Small, but quite sufficient to arouse the thoughtful reader's interest in other works of African leaders-in fact, those who created and are creating the history of the Black continent.

To the credit of the compilers and authors of the collection, one can point out such an important feature of the work as close attention to the numerous "sharp corners" that distinguished the historical science of Africa at different stages of its development. It is no secret that many leaders of African states in the 1960s and 1980s professed the "socialist path of development", and this "path" often justified totalitarianism, the existence and prosperity of authoritarian regimes.

At that time, there were 14 Communist and Marxist-Leninist parties in Africa, and a number of African historical scholars were influenced by them. Ph. D. V. I. Evseenko "Historical science in Guinea: stages of formation and problems" cites a number of African authors who harshly and evidently assess the regime of President Sekou Toure as the regime of a bloody announcer who caused enormous damage to his country. What are the figures given in one of the works by the former Guinean prisoner of conscience Mahmoud Ba: from 1959 to 1984, 50 thousand were repressed in Guinea and 2,026 thousand were sent into exile - 35% (!)

population of the country. However, it is necessary to clarify whether this was "exile" or economic emigration.

An interesting topic is raised in her article "Studying the history of Somalia" by L. V. Ivanova, Ph. D. in Historical Sciences - the topic of relations (in a purely scientific sphere, of course) between African and European researchers of the history of this state. If earlier local scientists treated the work of their colleagues in the UK and the United States - by the way, mostly immigrants from Somalia - as the ultimate truth, now local "...researchers are beginning to confidently criticize the work of European researchers on the problems of Somalia."

Recently, the world community celebrated the 20th anniversary of one of the most tragic events in the history of mankind - the genocide in Rwanda, the irreconcilable confrontation between the Hutu and ^{Tutsi peoples,} which claimed hundreds of thousands of human lives. In the article of Doctor of Historical Sciences I. V. Krivushin "From historical theory to genocide: the Hamite hypothesis in the context of the Rwandan tragedy of the 20th century " African historians have studied in detail the eternal conflict between Tutsi and Hutu, which dates back to the 16th century. Probably, there is no work in our Oriental literature that examines the origins of the genocide in such detail and from a historical perspective, as it is done in the work of I. V. Krivushin.

The country where African historical science has the deepest and most extensive roots, of course, is South Africa. This is described in detail in the article"The history of South Africa in the works of African intellectuals and enlighteners of the late XIX - first third of the XX centuries: features of the formation of historical ideas"by , Ph. D. in History. The first historian in this part of the Black Continent was Thii Soga, the son of an adviser to the chief of the Xhosa tribe. His main works were written in the middle of the XIX century. He died relatively young , at 42, but left behind a galaxy of researchers, writers, and journalists who patiently reconstructed the true history of South Africa through folklore, folk lore, and other similar sources.

The author thoroughly analyzes the works of historians of South Africa, noting that they do not have a common opinion on many issues. "But, despite their differences," notes A.V. Voevodsky, " they were united by one thing-the desire to save the past of their people from oblivion. A sense of unity in the fate of all the indigenous peoples of South Africa, the formation of a sense of pride in their origin."

The review of the book would not be complete if we did not mention another of its undoubted advantages: the brilliant introductory article by Academician A. B. Davidson "Problems of studying African Historical Science". The author convincingly explains why it is so important for us, people who seem to be from a completely different world, to know as much as possible about the history of Africa and about those who write this history. He says: "... what the Africans say is not only about them, it is a global problem and directly affects all of us." And more: "Indisputable... Fact: the role of Asia and Africa in the modern world is growing every year. And in the general population of the world, and in the economy, politics, and culture... In all spheres of human life."

"The historical thought of Africa," the scientist writes further, " has become an integral part of the world historical science. Without its achievements, it is no longer possible to judge the problems of the past, as well as the modern life of many peoples and states." One cannot but agree that the complex and contradictory historical experience of Africa in overcoming inter-tribal and inter-ethnic conflicts and in finding mutual understanding between peoples is largely useful for our country, where, alas, there are also enough problems in mutual understanding between people of different nationalities and living in different regions.

One of the largest in the book - 40 pages! - this is an article by academician A. B. Davidson, among other things-a brilliant literary work that is read, as they say, "in one breath". After reading it, there is no doubt that the collective work of almost a dozen and a half authors is extremely useful, and the circulation of 500 copies, which at present is simply gigantic for a scientific work, is well deserved and justified.

I would venture to suggest that the relevance of the book "Africa. History and Historians" will increase even more over time. A number of African countries are now, if not on the rise, then close to it. It is no secret that some countries of the continent have experienced the recent financial and economic crisis with minimal losses. Very large - scale projects are being prepared for implementation- what is the cost of the phased construction of one of the world's largest energy hubs in Ethiopia? ² If these projects and plans come to fruition, many people will probably be interested in what underlies the success of the "African lions" - this is most likely the name given to individual countries of the continent, in contrast to the "Asian tigers". And the next editions of the book will help you find the answer to this question.

¹ For more information, see: Petrov N. I. KWIBUKA-20: pamyati genotsida v Ruande; Mujawamaria Jeanne d'Arc, Dr. (Rwanda). Launch of KWIBUKA-20; Shlyonskaya S. M. Ruanda posle genotsida / / Azia i Afrika segodnya. 2014, N 5) (in Russian)

² See, for example: Bragin N. A. Ethiopia: "The Great Dam of Renaissance" / / Asia and Africa Today. 2012, N 1, с. 56 - 58. (Bragin N.A. 2012. Ethiopia: "Grand Renaissance Dam" // Aziya i Afrika segodnya. N 1) (in Russian)

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