Discover GEEO’s recommended books to read before you travel to Ghana. Our book club is a way for travelers to learn through literature about the places they’ll be visiting.
These are some of our favorites about Ghana, so if you’re heading there, take a look (the GEEO book club is not a required element of our programs, just a bit of added fun)! We hope you will enjoy the books we have selected and they will enhance your experience.
You should be able to find most of our selections through the links below and in your local library system as well. Do you have any feedback on our selections or suggestions for additions? Contact us and let us know!
Recommended books to read before traveling to Ghana:
Fiction:
- Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born by Ayi Kwei Armah (Amazon)
Nonfiction:
- Kwame Nkrumah: The Father of African Nationalism by David Birmingham and Jeffrey S. Ahlman (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- Lose Your Mother: A Journey Along the Atlantic Slave Route by Saidiya Hartman (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
For those looking for more suggestions, here are some other books you may want to consider:
- Changes: A Love Story by Ama Ata Aidoo (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- Ghana Must Go by Taiye Selasi (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- My First Coup d’Etat by John Dramani Mahama (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- In My Father’s House by Kwame Anthony Appiah (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- Wife of the Gods: A Novel by Kwei Quartey (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
Bonus recommended films and videos to watch before traveling to Ghana:
GEEO travelers can register with SIMA Academy for free using a unique access code that we provide after our programs end. Feel free to contact us if you would like to receive the access code early. For this program, we recommend watching E-Wasteland and Kayayo, the Living Shopping Baskets. SIMA Academy utilizes the storytelling power of award-winning global short documentaries to nurture globally competent and socially active learners worldwide.
Other films and videos:
- A Country Called Ghana (2024)
- Ghana Here I Am (2025)
- Beyond the River (2017)
- Azali (2018)
- “An African City” (web series, 2014–2017)
- The Burial of Kojo (2018)
GEEO utilizes both Bookshop.org and Amazon Associates links for the above-suggested books. If you purchase a book through one of the links above, you’re supporting us as a nonprofit and helping more teachers travel through GEEO!