Along with Africa, Volumes 1 and 2, Volume 3: Colonial Africa, 1885-1939 adopts a new perspective on African history and culture, surveying the wide array of societies and states that have existed on the African continent and introducing readers to the diversity of African experiences and cultural expressions. Toyin Falola has brought together African studies professors from a variety of schools and settings. Writing from their individual areas of expertise, these authors work together to break general stereotypes about Africa, focusing instead on the substantive issues of the African past from an African perspective.

Volume 1, African History Before 1885 (ISBN 0-89089-768-9), introduces students to the various precolonial histories of Africa. Volume 2, African Cultures and Societies Before 1885 (ISBN 0-89089-769-7), provides a broad view of precolonial experiences and expressions in Africa.

Volume 3, Colonial Africa, 1885-1939, details the experiences and ramifications of the colonization process throughout the African continent. Many different aspects are discussed including the changes in political and economic systems, and impacts on education, religion, and the environment. Also included are detailed regional histories of various geographical areas.

The texts are richly illustrated and include maps to make cultural and historical movements clearer, as well as suggestions for further reading that will help readers broaden their own particular interests. Africa provides new perspectives that challenge the accepted ways of studying Africa, flexibility for instructors to structure courses, and encouragement for readers who are eager to learn about the diversity of the African experience.