This work examines the diverse and interlocking experiences of people of indigenous, African, and European backgrounds from the onset of independence until today. It illustrates and analyzes the major and minor events that shape history, the triumphs and defeats, and the everyday lives of people of varied classes and racial and ethnic backgrounds. It intersperses accounts of the lives of prominent figures with those of ordinary people, and emphasizes gender's role in influencing political and economic change and shaping cultural identity.