About the Book
The last 500 years of modern history in the West have witnessed Europeans (whites) wage continuous war and form the USA (United States of America) and European Union, both of which are characterized today by large, global economies of scale. This same 500-year time period witnessed the East, characterized by China (and Japan), suffer intrusions by the West, but manage to maintain its cultural unity and today create a large, global economy of scale, capable of competing with the West. The book Too Late to Go Home? addresses what the last 500 years of modern history have reaped in Ghana (and black Africa) from the point of view of a historically-conscious, African-centric African-American, who has returned home to the Continent to live. His story critically describes a warm, mostly-accepting, culturally cohesive people (i.e., the masses) who willingly suffer a grossly inadequate infrastructure, educational system, and ruling political class. Despite an apparent abundance of natural resources (dams, gold, oil, etc.) and a glorious pre-colonial history, Too Late to Go Home? describes a so-called developing Ghana (and black Africa) that looks poised to function as a second-class society in-perpetuity, unless an updated, Nkrumah-like, Pan-African vision is adopted by its leaders (politicians, academicians, ministers, tribal leaders) to transform the society. Too Late to Go Home? is a scholarly, but "no holds barred," look at Ghana's (and black Africa's) glaring problems, but it presents a solution in the form of a Pan-African, economic model and equation that could be used to uplift the entire country, instead of just the ruling classes. Depending on the clock (paradigm) one uses, time is running out, if it hasn't run out already!
About the Author: At the time of this book's publication, John Striggles (MS, Biochemistry, University of MO.-Columbia; BA, Political Science, Bellarmine Univ.) has resided in Accra, Ghana, for over a year. For most of his life in the United States, he lived in Louisville, KY. From 1983-2000, John lived in the western U.S. in the states of Colorado and Arizona. In Phoenix (AZ.), he incorporated Yohana Educational Products which featured educational products, including the book Blacks: A Diopian Worldview. His formal studies in Phoenix culminated at AZ. State University with the equivalent of an undergraduate degree in Chemistry. From 2001-2003, John completed graduate studies at the Univ. of Missouri. He is trained as a research scientist, and his research in nucleic acids led to a 2006 article published in the periodical RNA, entitled Frequency of RNA-RNA interaction in a model of the RNA World. From 2004-2012, John lectured and taught laboratory courses at local universities and junior colleges in Louisville, KY. Also, he is President Emeritus of ACHE (The Academy of Cultural & Historical Excellence), a non-profit, community-based organization located in Louisville. The Purpose of this Book In the spirit of Diop, Delany, DuBois, Blyden, and Nkrumah (all of whom set foot in Africa), it is the sincere and humble intent of the author that this book be used as a modern-day road map and manifesto that transmits a sense of urgency to Ghanaians (and Africans, in general) to create an economy that rivals that of a "developed" nation, to unify sub-Saharan Africa and pursue a powerful, collective, political destiny.