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Rating: 
Summary: A unique viewpoint of a much misconceived Africa
Review: Do not be fooled by Mike Dowling's assessment of the book. Had he bothered to look beyond the title before purchasing, he might have realized that "Mandela, Mobutu and Me" was not a history book.This book allows you to view Africa within the specific frame of reference of a distinguished WashPost journalist, at the top of her game. Readers visit the front lines with Duke, laugh, cry and pontificate as the author describes her struggle to reconcile the many conflicting realities of South Africa, as well as the continent. She weaves her own personal reactions together with informational cues, to give even less informed readers a well rounded, balanced sub-text of the Africa we see daily in the news and within pop-culture, but know so little about. Avid readers will fly through it, but it also reads easily for those who take their time. I know Ms Duke personally and can safely say that she put a lot of care into crafting what has resulted in a highly entertaining, enlightening memoire from her experiences abroad. Her understanding of race-relations and Afro-politics are unparalleled. Duke is certainly a power player at the Washington Post - for those interested, she currently writes for WP Style. This book is a must-read!
Rating:
Summary: A unique viewpoint of a much misconceived Africa
Review: Do not be fooled by Mike Dowling's assessment of the book. Had he bothered to look beyond the title before purchasing, he might have realized that "Mandela, Mobutu and Me" was not a history book. This book allows you to view Africa within the specific frame of reference of a distinguished WashPost journalist, at the top of her game. Readers visit the front lines with Duke, laugh, cry and pontificate as the author describes her struggle to reconcile the many conflicting realities of South Africa, as well as the continent. She weaves her own personal reactions together with informational cues, to give even less informed readers a well rounded, balanced sub-text of the Africa we see daily in the news and within pop-culture, but know so little about. Avid readers will fly through it, but it also reads easily for those who take their time. I know Ms Duke personally and can safely say that she put a lot of care into crafting what has resulted in a highly entertaining, enlightening memoire from her experiences abroad. Her understanding of race-relations and Afro-politics are unparalleled. Duke is certainly a power player at the Washington Post - for those interested, she currently writes for WP Style. This book is a must-read!
Rating: 
Summary: Me, Me, Me Doesn't Invalidate the Rest of It
Review: For the readers who were disappointed by Duke's personal journey commentary, try reading A Continent for the Taking by Howard French. The two books have some overlap, but French, a writer for the New York Times, takes more of an analytical approach. His style is a bit more dense and less breezy than Duke's but engaging nonetheless. As for Duke's book, I, too, was initially put off by her personal commentary but as I moved through the entire book, I began to appreciate it as a memoir of her experience of a time in a radically different place than what most of her readers will probably ever know.
Rating: 
Summary: Me and Mobuto and Me and Mandela and especially ME
Review: I was hoping to read about what has happened in Africa in the last few years. Instead I found a tome about a very self-absorbed woman. This really is a terrible book. Don't look for any insight into Mubuto Sese Seko or Nelson Mandela. I did a Google search on Lynn Duke because I couldn't--and still can't--fathom that the Washington Post would hire a person who wrote a book this bad.
Rating:
Summary: Me and Mobuto and Me and Mandela and especially ME
Review: I was hoping to read about what has happened in Africa in the last few years. Instead I found a tome about a very self-absorbed woman. This really is a terrible book. Don't look for any insight into Mubuto Sese Seko or Nelson Mandela. I did a Google search on Lynn Duke because I couldn't--and still can't--fathom that the Washington Post would hire a person who wrote a book this bad.
Rating:
Summary: This book is phenomenal!
Review: Mandela, Mobutu, And Me is a phenomenal book. Lynne Dukes is an excellent journalist. I regret that I missed her at the Harlem Book Fair this past July because I would have personally told her how much this book has meant to me. The book made me laugh and cry and helped me catch up on some important history on Africa. I find myself referring back to the book quite frequently especially when I hear a report on any of the countries discussed in the book including South Africa, Congo-Zaire, Angola and Rwanda. This book offers an incredible wealth of knowledge and a fresh prospective on these countries as well as important events that have occurred in recent times. It also discusses Africa leaders whom we all should have some knowledge of and America's "only when we can profit" policy toward Africa. I was especially impressed with Dukes candid thoughts on Africa as African-American woman. I thought there were very few African-American women like myself who still have a love and connection to Africa in spite of all the negative reports we hear about Africa. This book has allowed me travel to a place that I have yet to visit but is so much a part of who I am today. Thank you Mrs. Dukes for making this journey possible.
Rating:
Summary: Me & Mandela & Me & Mobuto, & mostly ME, ME, ME
Review: What a horrible book! It took a Google search to prove that Ms. Duke actually wrote for the Washington Post. If you read this book, you might have the same doubts . . . but the Post did accept her byline. I hoped to read about recent trends in Africa. The title suggested I would get insight into Nelson Mandela, who overlooked 27 years in prison to rebuild South Africa, and Mobutu Sese Seko (Kuku wa za Banga), a ruthless despot whose plutocracy bled the resource rich nation of Congo dry. Instead it was a self-serving, egocentric view of an African-American woman as she tried to fit the paradigm of Africa politics into her own narrow prejudices. I hoped to learn more about the history of post-colonial Africa, but this book was a waste of time.
Rating:
Summary: Me & Mandela & Me & Mobuto, & mostly ME, ME, ME
Review: What a horrible book! It took a Google search to prove that Ms. Duke actually wrote for the Washington Post. If you read this book, you might have the same doubts . . . but the Post did accept her byline. I hoped to read about recent trends in Africa. The title suggested I would get insight into Nelson Mandela, who overlooked 27 years in prison to rebuild South Africa, and Mobutu Sese Seko (Kuku wa za Banga), a ruthless despot whose plutocracy bled the resource rich nation of Congo dry. Instead it was a self-serving, egocentric view of an African-American woman as she tried to fit the paradigm of Africa politics into her own narrow prejudices. I hoped to learn more about the history of post-colonial Africa, but this book was a waste of time.
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