Carien Westerveld – The African Dream: On the Rising Middle Class
Carien Westerveld – The African Dream: On the Rising Middle Class
Read an English pitch of The African Dream
About the book
A discerning and personal portrait of a generation that symbolizes the possibilities and opportunities of a new Africa.
Anyone who thinks of Africa thinks of opportunities and modernization. A new type of city-dweller is emerging who embraces new lifestyles and is seen as the driving force behind economic progress. Businesspeople, journalists, policymakers and other who take an interest in Africa talk continually about this emerging middle class, regarded by public opinion as a gamechanger that has transformed Africa from a lost continent into a place of hope and growth. But who are the young people who form the new middle class and what motivates them? Carien Westerveld visited them in megachurches, on a course about how to become rich, at work and in bars.
She spent many hours talking to people in their twenties and thirties whom she has been following for years, and here she writes about their ideas on love, money, politics and the future.
This is a fascinating and topical book about a generation that in its quest for a prosperous and successful life is steering a course between tradition and modernity.
One of Africa’s most exciting countries, through the eyes of a discerning observer. Read it! - KEES BROERE, FORMER AFRICA CORRESPONDENT
A beautifully written book for anyone who wants to understand modern Kenya better. - BERT KOENDERS, THE DUTCH MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Her book is truly captivating and creates a clear image of Kenya at the intersection between modernity and tradition. The lives she describes make a lasting impression, the people she brings to life remain with you, bringing into sharp focus both the practical and the existential obstacles and challenges of this worldwide transformation. - ATHENAEUM
Author
Carien Westerveld graduated in international relations. She has worked for the Clingendael Institute and for several publishing houses. In 2010 she moved to Kenya, where she wrote a blog for De Groene Amsterdammer about her attempts to solve the riddle of her new home nation.
Additional book information
- Literary non-fiction
- ISBN 9789023466758
- Number of pages: 284
- World rights: De Bezige Bij
- Price: € 19,99
- English information available