Gann and Duignan examine the problems that beset this continent and show how African issues will impinge on the United States during the 1980s.

In a historical introduction, the writers explain the roots of many contemporary problems. Demonstrating the ills of Africa admit of no easy solution, they call on American politicians to think not in terms of a single "African" policy but of regional development.

Attempting to set Africa into the wider framework of world politics, the authors hold that Soviet influence in Africa has been growing, continues to grow, and must be diminished. They assert that a global balance of power will benefit both the peoples of Africa and the world at large.