This book tells the story of Kwame Nkrumah, the first post-colonial president of an independent African country. The book utilizes previously unpublished and recently declassified IS State Department documents to give an analysis and a chronology of Nkrumah's fall. The book is written for a general audience and for academic historians and students.
"This is an extremelywelcome addition to the scholarship on Nkrumah, the leadership of African liberation movements, andthe quest for Black liberation from the mid-1950's onward. This is history written with an electric verve in its narrative voice, and with a precisely researchedclarity."
- Melvin T. Peters, Associate Professor of African American Studies, Eastern Michigan University
"Rahman is a brilliant political analyst and a longtime activist who brings enormous insight and skillful creativity to his study of Ghanaian leader and Pan-Africanist thinker, Kwame Nkrumah. This is a must-read for anyone interested in Africa, her past, her future, and the many complex personalities that she produced."
- Barbara Ransby, Associate Professor of History and African American Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago
"Rahman's study is an important contribution to Pan-Africanism, specifically the origins of the independence process and the role of the U.S. in the days before the new globalization took off. This study takes us into the logic of regime change, both as a function of internal contradictions and the logic of global domination. Rahman demonstrates that the Black Power paradigm for research can lead to a nuanced analysis of a complex historical process."
- Abdul Alkalimat, Professor of Sociology, and Director, Africana Studies Program, University of Toledo
"This is an important and timely new addition to the literature on the life, career, and accomplishments of Kwame Nkrumah. Rahman directly challenges previous work that emphasized the incompatibility of Nkrumah's pragmatic devotion to traditionalism and the demands of the modern state. His careful and nuanced study delves deeply into Nkrumah's life and times and offers a balanced appraisal and critique of this African leader s accomplishments and his shortcomings."
- Joseph F. Jordan, Associate Professor and Director, Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill"Ahmad A. Rahman's The Regime Change of Kwame Nkrumah: Epic Heroism in Africa and the Diaspora enriches our understanding of Kwame Nkrumah's significance in Afirican insurgent politics. Rahman challenges Euro-centrics interpretations which provide superficial accounts of Nkrumah's legacy. His book offers a sophisticated and innovative treatment of multiple factors, such as indigenous African constructs, which gives us rich insights into Nkrumah's efforts to lead Ghana and Africa to independence and Pan-African solidarity."
- Charles E. Jones, Chair, Department of African-American Studies, Georgia State University
"Kudos to Ahmad A. Rahman! He has written a sophisticated political biography that takes seriously the ways in which Nkrumah s culture influenced his political actions, Ghanaians culturally derived political expectations, and the position of Nkrumah s Ghana in the world capitalist political economy."
- Sundiata Keita Cha-Jua, Associate Professor of History, and Director, Afro-American Studies and Research Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"Highly recommended." - CHOICE
- Melvin T. Peters, Associate Professor of African American Studies, Eastern Michigan University
"Rahman is a brilliant political analyst and a longtime activist who brings enormous insight and skillful creativity to his study of Ghanaian leader and Pan-Africanist thinker, Kwame Nkrumah. This is a must-read for anyone interested in Africa, her past, her future, and the many complex personalities that she produced."
- Barbara Ransby, Associate Professor of History and African American Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago
"Rahman's study is an important contribution to Pan-Africanism, specifically the origins of the independence process and the role of the U.S. in the days before the new globalization took off. This study takes us into the logic of regime change, both as a function of internal contradictions and the logic of global domination. Rahman demonstrates that the Black Power paradigm for research can lead to a nuanced analysis of a complex historical process."
- Abdul Alkalimat, Professor of Sociology, and Director, Africana Studies Program, University of Toledo
"This is an important and timely new addition to the literature on the life, career, and accomplishments of Kwame Nkrumah. Rahman directly challenges previous work that emphasized the incompatibility of Nkrumah's pragmatic devotion to traditionalism and the demands of the modern state. His careful and nuanced study delves deeply into Nkrumah's life and times and offers a balanced appraisal and critique of this African leader s accomplishments and his shortcomings."
- Joseph F. Jordan, Associate Professor and Director, Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill"Ahmad A. Rahman's The Regime Change of Kwame Nkrumah: Epic Heroism in Africa and the Diaspora enriches our understanding of Kwame Nkrumah's significance in Afirican insurgent politics. Rahman challenges Euro-centrics interpretations which provide superficial accounts of Nkrumah's legacy. His book offers a sophisticated and innovative treatment of multiple factors, such as indigenous African constructs, which gives us rich insights into Nkrumah's efforts to lead Ghana and Africa to independence and Pan-African solidarity."
- Charles E. Jones, Chair, Department of African-American Studies, Georgia State University
"Kudos to Ahmad A. Rahman! He has written a sophisticated political biography that takes seriously the ways in which Nkrumah s culture influenced his political actions, Ghanaians culturally derived political expectations, and the position of Nkrumah s Ghana in the world capitalist political economy."
- Sundiata Keita Cha-Jua, Associate Professor of History, and Director, Afro-American Studies and Research Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"Highly recommended." - CHOICE