Popular African Biography Books
Find biography books written by authors from Africa for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (71)
11.
Cockroaches by Scholastique Mukasonga EN
RwandaDescription:
Mukasonga unsparingly resurrects the horrors of the Rwandan geocide while lyrically recording the quieter moments of daily life with her family—a moving tribute to all those who are displaced, who suffer. Mukasonga’s extraordinary, lyrical, and heartbreaking book … is indispensable reading for anyone who cares about the endurance of the human spirit and who hopes for a better world. — Lynne Sharon Schwartz, Los Angeles Review of Books Scholastique Mukasonga’s Cockroaches is a compelling chronicle of the author’s childhood in the years leading up to the 1994 Rwandan genocide. In a spare and pen... continue
12.
SomaliaDescription:
Fashion model, UN ambassador and courageous spirit, Waris Dirie is a remarkable woman, born into a traditional family of tribal desert nomads in Somalia. She told her story - enduring, at five years old, the ancient and savage custom of female circumcision; running away at twelve on foot through the desert in order to escape an arranged marriage; being discovered by Terence Donovan as she worked as a cleaner in London; and becoming a top fashion model - in her book, the worldwide bestseller, Desert Flower. Although Waris Dirie fled her homeland, she never forgot the country and culture that mo... continue
13.
Desert Flower : The Extraordinary Journey of a Desert Nomad by Waris Dirie EN
Description:
Waris Dirie ran away from her oppressive life in the African desert when she was barely in her teens, illiterate and impoverished, with nothing to her name but a tattered shawl. She traveled alone across the dangerous Somali desert to Mogadishu—the first leg of a remarkable journey that would take her to London, where she worked as a house servant; then to nearly every corner of the globe as an internationally renowned fashion model; and ultimately to New York City, where she became a human rights ambassador for the U.N. Desert Flower is her extraordinary story.
14.
Die Tränen der Töchter by Khady DE
SenegalDescription:
Der aufrüttelnde Lebensbericht der Senegalesin Khady, die mit 7 Jahren den Albtraum der Beschneidung erleidet, mit 13 zwangsverheiratet wird und die sich heute dem Kampf gegen die weibliche Genitalverstümmelung widmet.
15.
El nen negre by Camara Laye CA
GuineaDescription:
Un jove escriptor de 25 anys decideix narrar la seva infantesa africana, a l'Alta Guinea. Però, més enllà d'un relat autobiogràfic, ens retorna, amb tota la seva veritat, la vida quotidiana, les tradicions i els costums de tot un poble. Amb aquest Nen negre, Camara Laye ens ofereix un llibre intemporal ple de finor i de talent que recull, en un text fluid i delicat, tota la mitologia africana i la plena capacitat poètica de la vida captada amb els ulls transparents i innocents d'un noi.
16.
Faith Like Potatoes : The Story of a Farmer who Risked Everything for God by Angus Buchan EN
ZimbabweDescription:
In this moving account, set in South Africa, Angus Buchan tells his true story about following God in the midst of adversity and illustrates the amazing acts God can perform through His faithful followers.
17.
Gaddafi's Harem by Annick Cojean EN
LibyaDescription:
This shocking and moving investigation into the hidden abuses perpetrated by Colonel Gaddafi reveals an appalliing private life.
18.
Ghost Boy by Martin Pistorius EN
Country: Africa / 
South Africa
South Africa
Description:
Ghost Boy is a deeply moving story of recovery and the power of love. Through Martin's story we can know what it is like to be here and yet not here - unable to communicate yet feeling and understanding everything. Martin's emergence from his darkness enables us to celebrate the human spirit and is a wake-up call to cherish our own lives.
19.
Going to the Mountain : Life Lessons from My Grandfather, Nelson Mandela by Ndaba Mandela EN
Country: Africa / South Africa
South Africa
Description:
The first-ever book to tell Nelson Mandela's life through the eyes of the grandson who was raised by him, chronicling Ndaba Mandela's life living with, and learning from, one of the greatest leaders and humanitarians the world has ever known. To the rest of the world, Nelson Mandela was a giant: an anti-apartheid revolutionary, a world-renowned humanitarian, and South Africa's first black president. To Ndaba Mandela, he was simply "Granddad." In Going to the Mountain, Ndaba tells how he came to live with Mandela shortly after he turned eleven--having met each other only once, years before, whe... continue
20.
How Dare The Sun Rise by Sandra Uwiringiyimana EN
Country: Africa / 
Congo, Democratic Republic of
Congo, Democratic Republic of
Description:
Junior Library Guild Selection * New York Public Library's Best Books for Teens * Goodreads Choice Awards Nonfiction Finalist * Chicago Public Library’s Best of the Best Books for Teens: Nonfiction * 2018 Texas Topaz Nonfiction List * YALSA's 2018 Quick Picks List * Bank Street's 2018 Best Books of the Year “This gut-wrenching, poetic memoir reminds us that no life story can be reduced to the word ‘refugee.’" —New York Times Book Review “A critical piece of literature, contributing to the larger refugee narrative in a way that is complex and nuanced.” —School Library Journal (starred review) T... continue