African Light

Despite some longstanding American prejudices, Africa is not “the Dark Continent”; rather, it is a place where joy redeems sorrow, where hope shines brighter than despair. Across the past decade Ab Abercrombie has created a book, African Light, to affirm this fact. He wrote 10 essays about African friends — and also about African miscellany, from Ebola to elephants, from missionaries to mamba-snakes. The book features more than 80 color photographs, some by incredibly talented nature and travel photographers. Renowned wildlife artist Dao Van Hoang supplements the pictures and essays with a dozen original drawings, completed during his Cape-to-Cairo journey across Africa. African Light does not focus entirely on Africa University, but because Abercrombie taught there for 11 semesters, AU defines the book’s center, and AU is the small, beautiful lens through which Ab views the great, beautiful continent. Furthermore, Africa University adds voice to the book through 12 short essays by AU students from six African nations. African Light is the ideal read for short-term missionaries, college students, armchair geographers, connoisseurs of good stories and those who support AU. Still, the main purpose of the book is to celebrate Africa by creating a tour-guide for the heart. Read more