Immediately following the 2008 U.S. presidential election, which occurred around the time this book was being compiled, a fracas occurred within the media surrounding some post-election campaign gossip that the Republican party's vice-presidential candidate had revealed during debate and briefing preparations that she did not understand that Africa was a continent, and instead believed it to be a single state. Whether that rumor was true or false is quite beside the point: the larger issue, arguably, is that many people found it even at least somewhat plausible that a person with a high school diploma-let alone a college degree-granted in the U.S. might not know that Africa is a continent. Indeed it is a very large one, with 53 independent states fraught with a troubled and complex historical geography. Although most Americans have a general sense that modern Africa is beset with difficulty and some could name a few places and issues related to the limited coverage given African events in the mainstream media, there is little understanding of Africa. Indeed for virtually all Americans, Africa remains "the dark continent."