A senior writer for the New York Times, French has reported for the newspaper since 1986 from Central America, the Caribbean, West and Central Africa, Japan, Korea and now China.

In 1997, his coverage of the fall of Mobuto Sese Seko won the Overseas Press Club of Americas award
for best newspaper interpretation of foreign affairs.

With A Continent for the Taking, Howard French gives us an unstinting account of the disastrous consequences of the fateful, centuries-old encounter between Africa and the West. French delineates the betrayal and greed of the Westoften aided and abetted by Africas own leadersthat have given rise to the increasing exploitation of Africas natural resources and its human beings.

He takes us inside Nigeria, Liberia, Mali and the Congo, examining with unusual insight the legacy of colonization in the lives of contemporary Africans. He looks at the tragedies of the AIDS epidemic, the Ebola outbreak and the genocide that resulted in millions of deaths in Rwanda and the Congo. He makes clear the systematic failure of Western political leadersthe nurturers of tyrants such as Mobuto Sese Seko and Laurent Kabila, whose stories are told here in full detailand the brutal excesses of the CIA.

Praise for A Continent for the Taking, published April 2004:

“A brilliant and nuanced meditation on the complexities of contemporary Africa.
Essential reading for those of us who love Africa and for all those who wish
to gain a fuller understanding of a continent that is sprawling, mysterious, and
endlessly fascinating. Howard French’s voice is both fresh and enlightening.”

Henry Louis Gates, Jr.