The Scramble for Africa, 1876-1912 Pakenham, Thomas

The Scramble for Africa: 1876–1912 (Premium Hardcover Edition)

The Definitive Masterpiece on the Imperial Conquest of the African Continent

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: The Scramble for Africa: 1876–1912
• Author: Thomas Pakenham
• Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London
• Publication Date: 1991
• ISBN-10: 0297811304
• ISBN-13: 9780297811305
• Edition Details: First Edition, Early UK Hardcover Printing.
• Binding: Heavy publisher’s cloth boards with bold gilt-stamped spine titles, complete with the original illustrated dust jacket. Now protected with a new plastic cover.
• Physical Format: Thick Octavo (8vo), 738 pages. Lavishly illustrated with extensive photographic plates, detailed political maps, and extensive bibliographic context notes.
• Language: English

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Very Good Plus (VG+)
• Exterior / Boards: The massive text block is securely and tightly bound. Spine remains unbent, and the cloth covers are perfectly clean and square. Very minor shelf friction on base edges.
• Interior: Crisp, immaculate, and bright white. Entirely free of standard user highlighting, dealer annotations, or dog-ears.
• The Dust Jacket: Very Good Plus (VG+)
• Condition: The original full-color dust jacket is in wonderful condition, featuring deep, unfaded coloration. Free of notable tears, heavy scuffing, or chips. Now beautifully highlighted and armored against future shelfwear by a new clear plastic cover.

Synopsis & Historical Value

Thomas Pakenham’s The Scramble for Africa is widely considered the absolute narrative masterpiece on the European colonization of Africa. Spanning over 700 pages, Pakenham tracks the intense, thirty-year rush where five European empires carved up the entire African landmass.

From King Leopold II's brutal exploitation of the Congo to the mineral rushes of South Africa and the grand schemes of Cecil Rhodes, Pakenham exposes the mixture of corporate greed, evangelical zeal, and raw imperial pride that fueled the conquest. It is an indispensable, highly comprehensive text for any serious collector of history, politics, or general Africana books.

Author Profile: Thomas Pakenham

Thomas Pakenham (Lord Longford) is an extraordinarily gifted British historian, biographer, and arborist. Educated at Belvedere College and Magdalen College, Oxford, he is celebrated for his monumental narrative histories. His two main historical masterworks—The Boer War and The Scramble for Africa—received immense critical praise, winning the prestigious Alan Paton Award for their masterful balance of exhaustive research and epic storytelling.

High-Value Search Phrases: the scramble for africa thomas pakenham, weidenfeld nicolson 1991 hardcover, rare pakenham scramble for africa, premium collectible copy pakenham, colonial history africa books, thick africana history hardcover, used collectible book pakenham