Prior to the original 1966 publication of Africa in History, Africa's past, including its art and literature, had typically been measured by the European concept of civilization. Basil Davidson, a scholar of Africa and its peoples since 1951 and the author and presenter of the eight-part documentary Africa, altered that perception with this landmark restoration of African history. Davidson lays out the inner growth of Africa and its worldwide significance; the internal dynamics of its old civilizations and their links with Asia, Europe, and America; and also the development of specific areas, tribes, and cultures. This edition ends with the bloodshed in Ethiopia and the changes in South Africa since the release of Nelson Mandela.