SVART HISTORIA – BLACK HISTORY UNVEILED

By Amat Levin

FEW PARTS OF world history are as neglected as that of Black Africans and the associated diaspora around the world. The image of Africa as a continent whose history begins with the arrival of Europeans has in many ways survived until today. 

THERE ARE STILL those who see Africa as more or less the same country, a dark corner of the world dominated by endless wars and widespread poverty, or those who think the continent owes its progress to colonialism. Shedding new light on this kind of thinking was the starting point the book. Black History Unveiled blends a vast array of people, phenomena, events and happenings: from ancient migrations with massive consequences, the creation of perhaps the world’s first Christian state and the trans-Saharan slave trade, to the Caribbean freedom struggle, the resistance of Angela Davis and Sister Rosetta Tharpe – the godmother of rock’n’roll.

BLACK HISTORY UNVEILED does not attempt to provide a complete or definitive picture of African or Black history, but is a series of snapshots, a collection of broad brush strokes that provide an introductory insight. Concise without being overly simplistic, it serves as a tool to better understand the world we live in today.

Published by Natur & Kultur, 2022

Germany, Verlag C.H.Beck
Italy, Neri Pozza Editore
Sweden, Natur & Kultur

An accomplishment… full of stories and destinies that are all worthy of major biographies in their own right.
– Expressen, Sweden

A Black history encyclopaedia that shakes things up. It’s clear that new world histories must be written.
– Aftonbladet, Sweden

Quite simply, a magnificent work.
– Borås newspaper, Sweden

Amat Levin has written the book I would have liked to have read in my teens… It is a sensational book with a sensational genesis – I myself cannot recall such an educational and much-needed book being born out of a series of appreciated posts on social media. And yet so simple in its approach: to nuance the image of Black history by focusing on different stories from Africa and the African diaspora.
– Flamman, Sweden

Sweden’s Public Educator of the Year 2023.
Anders Carlberg Memorial Prize 2023
Natur & Kultur’s Popular Science Prize 2023
August Prize for Non-fiction Book of the Year, Shortlisted 2022
Adlibris Prize for Best Nonfiction Book of the Year, Shortlisted 2022

BOOKS

Non-fiction