Stolen Legacy by George G. M. James [1954]

This is an afrocentric re-examination of Greek philosophy, posing the thesis that it was, in plain, stolen from Egypt (i.e., Africa). James' theory is that classical Greek philosophy was derived from an Ancient Egyptian mystery tradition, possibly concealing advanced scientific knowledge that the Greeks misinterpreted. James' approach to the topic is informed by a wide range of authorities, some classic, others a bit more esoteric. He makes some startling claims, e.g., that Alexander the Great and Aristotle plundered hundreds of books from the Great Library of Alexandria, which were later attributed to Aristotle. He is dead serious about this perceived slight by the Greeks, and even exhorts us to boycott Greek letter fraternities.

Pioneers of the afrocentrism movement, such as James, and Drusilla Houston, labored in obscurity outside the mainstream. They were precursors of later 20th century writers such as Cheikh Anta Diop, who advanced very similar ideas, albeit on a broader front. Today, the substantial contribution of Africans to world civilization is better known. These books are milestones on the path towards this understanding.

Production notes: For once, I'd say that the original book could have used a bit more footnotes. The blocks of references interspersed with the text, and his tendency to use 'N.B.' as a standalone paragraph, make it look like a set of reading notes. The outlining is not indented in a consistent fashion, and the deeply nested numbering of sub-sections and items is also apparently ad-hoc. However, as is the practice, I have preserved the original text as closely as possible. Lastly, I didn't attempt to check the spelling of the more obscure personal names in this, and, given the number of other typos in the book, there may be a number of them--J.B. Hare, September 23rd, 2008.

Part I

Part II