Our Africa editor chooses five books, and one album, as an introduction to the great continent

Speak of Africa as a single entity, and many of its inhabitants will say testily that it is no such thing. Rightly so: lazy outsiders often lump together the 1.2bn people who live in Africa’s vast landmass, who speak perhaps 2,000 distinct languages and who are more culturally, politically and genetically diverse than people on any other continent. Doing justice to this richness could easily take a lifetime of reading, listening and watching. Do not despair, though, for all of life’s great passions start with but a first taste. Below is a selection of five books (and just a few songs) that serve as an introduction.