Thursday AfricaDigest (12/2/10): Africa: E-Books Poised to Take Off

[AfricaDigest Manager]

Africa: E-Books Poised to Take Off

AfricaFocus Bulletin
Nov 22, 2010 (101122)
(Reposted from sources cited below)

Editor's Note

Can Africa take the lead in taking advantage of e-books, as it has
with the rapid expansion of mobile phones and innovations such as
mobile banking applications? It is certainly too early to be sure.
But there are some solid reasons to think this might be possible,
more quickly than it seemed only a year or two ago.

The advantages are clear, if internet access and bandwidth is
available. There are literally millions of books now available
free at various sites on the web, and the number is still growing
rapidly. And Amazon's Kindle store has some 750,000 titles,
most available at prices well under their paper counterparts.

Of course, there are still academic publishing dinosaurs, such as
Taylor & Francis or Palgrave Macmillan, who are carrying their
predatory pricing policies into the e-book realm with prices
approaching or exceeding $100 a book. And some commercial
publishers are also raising e-book prices. But overall, the price
curve continues to go down. Next year Google, which already
provides millions of public domain books for free viewing and pdf
download, will also be selling hundreds of thousands of low-cost
downloadable e-books through Google Editions, starting in 2011.

You can check out the current selection of free books on Google by
going to http://books.google.com, choosing advanced search, and
limiting the selection to books with "full view." Enter "Africa",
and limit the search to the 19th century only, for example, and you
will find more than a million books, including many classics of the
colonial period in Africa.

And the ease of access in Africa is also increasing rapidly, with
new fiber-optic links, access through mobile phones, and increased
competition among providers, although the pace is very uneven. With
Amazon's recent expansion of Kindle to over 100 countries,
including most African countries (see list at
http://tinyurl.com/y8o692u), international Kindle usage is also
increasing rapidly, although Amazon does not release
detailed statistics.

Personally I still prefer the advantages of paper books for
personal reading, and printing out selected pages from on-line
files when I want to read some than a few pages. So I haven't yet
invested in a Kindle (or asked for it as a gift!). But if I were
traveling more frequently than I do, or living in a place with
fewer bookstores and libraries, I would likely quickly change my
mind, given the relative costs.

A Zimbabwean friend of AfricaFocus writes "I have used it in
Zimbabwe and South Africa and it has worked very well for me.
Average download time for a book is about a minute on a wifi
connection. For use in Africa I think it is important to invest in
a kindle with wifi capability(some are 3G only) because 3G is not
as widely available as wifi. There are many wifi hotspots in Harare
at restaurants, bars, etc and that is how I usually connect and
download my books."

Kindle does ship to most African countries. But if you can't afford
a Kindle, note that Kindle books can be downloaded and read (with
a free application) on a PC or a Mac. And for those more at the
cutting edge of change than I, and with better eyes, there are even
Kindle apps for reading books on your Iphone, Blackberry, or other
smartphone.

If you want a convenient way to make books available to friends in
Africa who don't have access, note that just this month Amazon made
it possible for you to give a Kindle book to anyone with an e-mail
address and web access. They can read it on a PC or Mac even if
they don't have a Kindle.

This issue of AfricaFocus contains links for sources of free
books, as well as a sampling of Kindle e-books with Africa-related
content.

If you do decide to get a Kindle this year for yourself, or as a
gift, please do so through this link:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002FQJT3Q?tag=africafocus-20
That way you will be supporting AfricaFocus, at no extra cost to
you!

And finally, I would very much welcome feedback from those of you
who are using Kindle or other e-book formats in Africa, reporting
on your experiences, good or bad, or suggesting additional books
available on Kindle that might be added to the list below. I may
summarize or quote your comments in an update, so let me know
whether you want your name used or not.
Write to me at afric...@igc.org

++++++++++++++++++++++end editor's note++++++++++++++++++++

Some Useful Sources for E-Books and Related Information

Google Advanced Book Search
http://books.google.com/advanced_book_search

Preview of Google Editions E-Book Format
http://www.20thingsilearned.com/

Free Books Available for Kindle
http://tinyurl.com/2927ej8

Kindle Apps for PC, Mac, Iphone, Blackberry & more
http://www.amazon.com/gp/b/?node=133141011&tag=africafocus-20

Project Gutenberg
http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

WorldReader
http://www.worldreader.org
This group is experimenting with use of Kindles in school in
Ghana, as well as collaborating with African publishers in
making books available on Kindle.

Books from WorldReader Project
http://tinyurl.com/32dcfc4

A Sampling of Africa-Related Books available on Kindle

[Note that some books may not be available in some countries
because of limitations in the publisher's territorial copyrights.]

Achebe, Chinua, Things Fall Apart
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004478AS4?tag=africafocus-20

Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi, Half of a Yellow Sun
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001L83PLQ?tag=africafocus-20

Akpan, Uwem, Say You're One of Them.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002NGMAG6?tag=africafocus-20

Austen , Ralph A., Trans-Saharan Africa in World History
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003WE9DA4?tag=africafocus-20

Beah, ishmael, A Long Way Gone: Memoir of a Boy Soldier
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002AWX6UM?tag=africafocus-20

Bloomfield, Steve, Africa United: Soccer, Passion, Politics, and
the First World Cup in Africa
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003H4I4XQ?tag=africafocus-20

Brautigam, Deborah, The Dragon's Gift: The Real Story of China in
Africa
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0032JSGGQ?tag=africafocus-20

Campbell , James T., Middle Passages: African American Journeys to
Africa, 1787-2005
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001O4SCVK?tag=africafocus-20

Carlin, John, Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That
Made a Nation
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001FE4I6C?tag=africafocus-20

Carney, Judith, In the Shadow of Slavery: Africa's Botanical Legacy in
the Atlantic World
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003CFBIV0?tag=africafocus-20

Diawara, Manthia, In Search of Africa
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002OEBONC?tag=africafocus-20

Disney, Jennifer Leigh, Women's Activism and Feminist Agency in
Mozambique and Nicaragua
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001O5CYMM?tag=africafocus-20

Dowden, Richard, Africa: Ordered States, Ordinary Miracles
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002AMVKOG?tag=africafocus-20

Doyle, Arthur Conan, The Crime of the Congo
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00322OPEA?tag=africafocus-20

Equiano, Olaudah, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah
Equiano
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001DNYNV0?tag=africafocus-20

Fanon, Frantz, The Wretched of the Earth
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001C32HE6?tag=africafocus-20

Ferguson, James, Global Shadows: Africa in the Neoliberal World
Order
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003D3MKQI?tag=africafocus-20

Falola, Toyin, The History of Nigeria
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001KOUGRC?tag=africafocus-20

Ibe, Adimchinma, Treachery in the Yard: A Nigerian Thriller
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003P2WO7C?tag=africafocus-20

Kapuscinski, Ryszard, Another Day of Life
http://www.amazon.com/Another-Day-of-Life-ebook/dp/B000XUDH8O?tag
=africafocus-20

Kidder, Tracy, Strength in What Remains
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002LLRDT
C?tag=africafocus-20

Maathai, Wangari, The Challenge for Africa
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0024NP5HO?tag=africafocus-20

Maier, Karl, This House Has Fallen
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001GQ2S7K?tag=africafocus-20

Malley, Robert, The Call From Algeria: Third Worldism, Revolution,and
the Turn to Islam
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003U2T5RO?tag=africafocus-20

Mamdani, Mahmood, Saviors and Survivors: Darfur, Politics, and the War
on Terror
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001VT3L5K?tag=africafocus-20

Mandela, Nelson, Conversations with Myself
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003VTZTXU?tag=africafocus-20

Mandela, Nelson, Long Walk to Freedom
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0015T6G2G?tag=africafocus-20

Meredith, Martin, The Fate of Africa
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0014TMSHY?tag=africafocus-20

Meriwether, James H., Proudly We Can Be Africans: Black Americans
and Africa, 1935-1961
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003E7ETNA?tag=africafocus-20

Meyer, Deon, Dead Before Dying
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000SGSPEE?tag=africafocus-20

Meyer, Deon, Thirteen Hours
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0041KLFIG?tag=africafocus-20

Mgendi, Mlenge Fanuel, Ng'ombe wa Maskini (Hadithi za Uswahilini)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003ELPNAY?tag=africafocus-20

Minter, William, King Solomon's Mines Revisited
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002E19MSY?tag=africafocus-20

Moore, Carlos, Fela: This Bitch of a Life
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003GIRMGS?tag=africafocus-20

Nolen, Stephanie. 28 Stories of AIDS in Africa
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002STNBJS?tag=africafocus-20

Nwaubani, Adaobi Tricia, I Do Not Come to You by Chance
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002EBDP5K?tag=africafocus-20

Peel, Michael, A Swamp Full of Dollars: Pipelines and
Paramilitaries at Nigeria's Oil Frontier
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003MZ1UWM?tag=africafocus-20

Polakow-Suransky, Sasha, The Unspoken Alliance: Israel's Secret
Relationship with Apartheid South Africa
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0036S4AR2?tag=africafocus-20

Quartey, Kwei, Wife of the Gods
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002GPGZ1K?tag=africafocus-20

Radelet, Steven, Emerging Africa: How 17 Countries Are Leading the Way
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0046LU0H2?tag=africafocus-20

Richmond, Simon, et al., Lonely Planet South Africa, Lesotho &
Swaziland Country Guide
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0044WVLS0?tag=africafocus-20

Robinson, David, Muslim Societies in African History
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001FSIQGG?tag=africafocus-20

Rogers, Douglas. The Last Resort: A Memoir of Zimbabwe
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002PXFYIS?tag=africafocus-20

Sirleaf, Ellen Johnson, This Child Will Be Great
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0035C0MUS?tag=africafocus-20

Smillie, Ian , Blood on the Stone: Greed, Corruption and War in the
Global Diamond Trade
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00480O9P0?tag=africafocus-20

Soyinka, Wole, You Must Set Forth at Dawn
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000SF51WE?tag=africafocus-20

Thompson, Leonard, A History of South Africa (3rd edition)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001C34IK2?tag=africafocus-20

wa Thiong'o, Ngugi, Dreams in a Time of War
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0036S4EMI?tag=africafocus-20

Wrong, Michela, Our Turn to Eat
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002BY778Q?tag=africafocus-20

*******************************************************

AfricaFocus Bulletin is an independent electronic publication
providing reposted commentary and analysis on African issues, with
a particular focus on U.S. and international policies. AfricaFocus
Bulletin is edited by William Minter.

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