Exploration of attitudes

It is a well-worn path for foreign correspondents covering Africa that after a couple of years they feel empowered to knock off a “whither Africa'' book.

They open with what editors call a soft, colour intro — a description of an adventurous journey or darkly spiritual scene, as if to establish their I-know-Africa credentials — and then they dissolve into a cut-and-paste history followed by some preaching.

Richard Dowden was a foreign correspondent in Africa but his new book completely breaks this stereotype.

At one level, it is a masterly overview of the world's most troubled continent.

He is particularly good on the continent's long-established links with China and the parallel with today's African asset grab by the insatiable Chinese economy.

From the dusty Horn of Africa, Dowden takes us on a journey through history and geography through the steamy forests of the Congo River basin, where warring factions replicate like bacteria in a Petri dish; the drug-fuelled chaos of war in Sierra Leone and Liberia; the vibrantly corrupt megalopolis of Lagos in Nigeria; the morally topsy-turvy world of Angola's civil war; the growing madness of Robert Mugabe as he truculently turned Zimbabwe from Africa's breadbasket to its basket case.

The continent's worst friction points are all covered and it is all up to date. It even includes a convincing account of why Kenya, complacently viewed as one of Africa's saner countries, exploded into violence just a few months ago.

The depth of Dowden's knowledge and connection with his subject is impressive.

His personal understanding of Mugabe, for example, dates back to the late 1970s, when they first met in the dingy basement of a Notting Hill flat.

For many years, Dowden covered the continent for The Independent and The Times, and I can almost hear the groans from his old sub-editors when he gets some key dates wrong.

But the occasional chronological glitch can be forgiven in light of the astuteness and economy of his analysis.

This is how he categorises the differing international attitudes to Africa: “Where the French see international status and the British see an object of charity, the Chinese see a business opportunity. The Americans, it appears, see Africa as a threat.''

On a more personal level, this is the story of Dowden's love for the continent, first kindled in 1971, when he arrived in Uganda as a teacher.

It continues to this day as he heads the Royal African Society in London. That love makes this book soar.

This is non-fiction writing at its most authentic — where the author has true conviction, a connection so deep with the subject that it even allows him to admit flaws.

Indeed, the 553-page book begins with an admission that trying to categorise Africa is in many ways a fool's errand.

But I, for one, am grateful he did not give up. Dowden's love affair with Africa is so authentic that you can feel his sense of occasional exasperation, regular bafflement but permanent excitement.