The Darker Nations

A People's History of the Third World

By: Vijay Prashad, Howard Zinn - editor

Narrated by: Neil Shah

Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

Here, from a brilliant young writer, is a paradigm-shifting history of both a utopian concept and global movement - the idea of the Third World. The Darker Nations traces the intellectual origins and the political history of the 20th century attempt to knit together the world's impoverished countries in opposition to the United States and Soviet spheres of influence in the decades following World War II.

Spanning every continent of the global South, Vijay Prashad's fascinating narrative takes us from the birth of postcolonial nations after World War II to the downfall and corruption of nationalist regimes. A breakthrough book of cutting-edge scholarship, it includes vivid portraits of Third World giants like India's Nehru, Egypt's Nasser, and Indonesia's Sukarno - as well as scores of extraordinary but now-forgotten intellectuals, artists, and freedom fighters. The Darker Nations restores to memory the vibrant though flawed idea of the Third World, whose demise, Prashad ultimately argues, has produced a much impoverished international political arena.

©2007 Vijay Prashad (P)2021 Tantor

Amazing book for learning about the non aligned movement

Very understandable and unintimidating telling of the history of the third world countries. From the beginning of colonialism up through the cold war and neocolonialism and into the modern day. Suddenly the worlds most turbulent times are clearly illuminated and reality no long seems bleak and incomprehensible. Thank you.

Amazing book for those interested in learning more about the global south

As a university student this book gave me the needed tools and information to understand labor and the global south, additionally, the history of those regions. Capitalism is a system that bleeds the working class, and this book does a fantastic job at examining the trans-national and stateless neoliberal organisations/corporations that have historically sustained and maintained footholds in former colonised regions and darker nations. Vijay Prashad is an amazing author and makes the writing accessible and run smooth. I enjoyed every visit to every country and it’s political and agronomic/economic history. I have learned so much from this book and I am on to the next audio book!

So informative!

I learned so much detail that I didn't know. It was incredibly eye-opening to see the history of the last 100 years through the eyes of the Third World.

great book that everyone in Europe/US should read

The book gives an economic perspective otherwise absent in our media, that of the majority of Earth’s people

A 12-hour whine.

12 solid hours of whining. 12 solid hours of ignoring economic principles. 12 solid hours of ignoring human nature. 12 solid hours spewing half of history. 12 solid hours ignoring the other half. 12 solid hours listening to the author’s feeble attempt to excuse third-world extortion of the first world by selling their loyalty to the highest bidder. 12 solid hours of victimization. 12 solid hours pushing Marxist philosophy. 12 solid hours ignoring the abject failure of Marxist philosophy. 12 solid hours of blaming the US. 12 solid hours displaying the author’s complete inability to understand the value of the entrepreneurial spirit. 12 solid hours of ReligioPhobia. 12 solid hours of racism. 12 solid hours of Leftist rhetoric. 12 solid hours of selfish, egocentric, puerile dribble.

… but the narrator did an excellent job capturing the spirit of this 12-hour whine. So, at least, there’s that.