Randall Robinson (–2023)

"I have tried in these pages to sketch the outlines of a story that stretches from the dawn of civilization to the present. The dilemma of blacks in the world cannot possibly be understood with taking the long view of history. My intent is to stimulate, not sate. To pose the question. To invite the debate. To cause Americans to compensate, after three and a half centuries, for a long-avoided wrong." statement of the author, Randall Robinson

Randall Robinson fairly describes the legatic shadow of racist defamation: "No nation can enslave a race of people for hundreds of years, set them free bedraggled and penniless, pit them, without assistance in a hostile environment, against privileged victimizers, and then reasonably expect the gap between the heirs of the two groups to narrow. Lines, begun parallel and left alone, can never touch." [74]

Non- fiction books with no notes of any kind; and a belief you "should believe this, because I say so" just don't pass muster for me.
Perhaps as a full length non-fiction, It would make good reading, but at present- it fails.

An enjoyable read with a different historical perspective than what I typically pick up. It is a bit of an overstatement to compare this book heavily to Woolf, Morrison and Marquez, (as the cover does), but it is an enjoyable jaunt into magical realism with an African focus. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy Morrison or who are just curious to learn slightly more, (albeit in the form of a novel), about African history.