The north, the central and the south are very different. Like different climate, ethnics, religions, languages, and economies.

Africa is also the center of the Arab world (Cairo + 2/3 of the arab world population is there) although the popular belief is that the middle east is.

What are you looking exactly for? I'm from the north so I can answer some questions about that part.

I know my question was very broad. It's hard to pin point to what I'm exactly looking for. The best way I can describe it is "fighting my own ignorance". I realized I know very little about the world and decided it's time to change it.

Sorry for being so vague, I don't have any starting point, except the books others recommended. I'll start digging and see where it gets me!

If you have the budget, book a flight to Cairo, Morocco and Tunis. They are dirt cheap, relatively safe and you can get by with little English. You'll see that despite they are 3 North Africa Arabic countries, they are wildly different.

If you like the beaches, they offer lots of options (for Egypt go to Sharm ElSheikh. I have yet to do a better scuba diving).

Also I don't read books about countries. I visit them. People and especially authors are biased and also perceptions are very relative. A shitty country for someone is a home for another one.

Books on the north would be good for me. Anything economies or about business there. Very happy to read anything you recommend about life in general there.

I'd avoid the books if you have the budget to travel there (bonus: it's very cheap right now!). I'd avoid North Africa for investment. Maybe Egypt but only if you are big and well connected.

For life, the 3 countries can offer good value quality/price. I live in Tunis. It has good food, good weather, nice beaches, new constructions that are cheap and easy to rent, etc... You can even get optic fibre for $25/month.

They have various issues especially with governmental services and transportation (particularly Cairo and Tunis). Tunis and Casa are definitively more open to tourists and foreigners than Cairo. Woman might find it unbearable to live in Cairo and Tunis would be the friendliest for woman in the whole of the Arab world.

One problem is that you can't travel around by car. If you are in Tunis, you can't jump to Algeria (very hostile to foreigners). You also don't want to jump to Libya. So you are limited to a 10 million population.

If you are in Egypt, beside Cairo and some touristic resorts, there is not much to go. It's downhill from the capital. The living standards are way too low.

If you like James Michener, then The Covenant is a great read about South Africa

If you're looking for a somewhat bleak overview of corruption and despots since independence, then try Martin Meredith The State of Africa: A History of the Continent Since Independence

One of my favourites is Blood River: A Journey to Africa's Broken Heart

Disgrace, by JM Coetzee. Outstanding book, emotionally difficult to read. Made into a not-too-bad movie with John Malkovich, but the book is infinitely better.

I read Karen Blixen's "Out of Africa" last year, and I found it absolutely breathtaking. Beautiful descriptions of a lost land and people, vivid imagery, and an almost fairy-tale like quality to it. One of the best books I've read in many years.

Granted, it's old and describes a version of Africa that there's not much left of, but I'd highly recommend it anyway.

West With the Night, Beryl Markham's autobiography. Beryl grew up in Africa, became a horse trainer and pilot, and flew solo from Europe to Newfoundland around the time that was highlighted in Out of Africa. Her life was incredibly interesting, she had at least one encounter with Hemingway, and she was a terrific writer.

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is very good. It's fiction, but semi-autobiographical. It's as much about living as a Nigerian immigrant in America as it is about Nigeria, but it's really well-written and gives a ton of insight into Nigerian culture (from a very specific perspective some might find grating.)

Congo by David Van Reybrouck was recommended to me as a great book, but I haven't read it yet!

This is indeed a great book. Definitely worth a read.

Van Reybrouck describes the history of Congo starting pre-colonial, the colonization by Belgium and the entire aftermath. The books gives you a good understanding on the impact and the how of colonization and the history of Congo.

African books i liked, though more anecdotal and transition-based, all short

i) Ryszard Kapuściński, both the The Emperor and the Soccer War ( half of this is about Africa, other half is South/Central America)

ii) Chinua Achebe - Things Fall Apart - fiction but feels 'truthy'

_The Fate of Africa_ is a comprehensive post-colonial history of the whole continent which does a great job with identifying overarching developments and spinning them into a narrative. It’s also very readable. I thoroghly recommend it.

I'll second this. This is probably the best thing to read if you're interested in Africa in general rather than a specific region or country. It shows you how entrenched many of the problems in Africa are.

Dancing in the Glory of Monsters is a must read and It's our Turn to Eat is also quite good.