Ignore the negative press and forget the Afro-pessimists. A beautiful new book celebrates all that is positive about the continent of Africa.

Crammed with beautiful images and insightful prose, 'Africa – The Good News' is a book you will want to display on every coffee table, access in every library and showcase in every office.

Published by South Africa - The Good News, this must-have compendium is intended to shift the perception of Africa as a continent of woe to a continent of hope and opportunity.

Comprising 53 independent countries and a diverse population of 900 million people, Africa is complex.

Importantly, says the book's editors, Marisa Berndsen and Steuart Pennington, Africa is not one country. "For every failed state that grabs the news headlines, there are countless success stories waiting to be told."

These stories, recognizing as they do the progress that has been made in Africa and the potential for more positive change, are becoming an increasing imperative for many of Africa's citizens, both at home and overseas.

"There are many reasons to be positive about Africa," say Berndsen and Pennington, "and many people who are passionate about telling her good news stories."

Unlike the countless books that try to explain what went wrong in Africa, 'Africa - The Good News' looks at what is going right. It gives voice to Africans (and non-Africans) who have a different story of Africa to tell.

It explains why a growing number of journalists, investors and academics are starting to look at Africa differently and describe the continent as one of growth and not just of despair.

"There are many reasons to be positive about Africa and many people who are passionate about telling her good news stories."

The book does not seek to gloss over the challenges facing Africa, but to present a view that is framed positively and with balance.

"While the continent still faces many challenges, as Africans we are admitting to them, and seeking sustainable solutions for the future."

'Africa – The Good News' looks at where Africa is today, where it is planning to go and its position in a global world, economically, socially, politically. It looks at the business opportunities, challenges and success stories on the continent. Importantly, it investigates what is being done to address the continent's many challenges and problems from leadership to poverty and almost everything in between.

The book covers a wide range of topics, starting with a foreword, 'Behold the New Africa' by Liberian President, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and an overview of the African continent 'Understanding Africa' by Steuart Pennington.

'Africa – The Good News' includes contributing chapters from writers, educators, commentators and business representatives and a collections of rich photographs of Africans and Africa that are rarely seen.

The immense contribution made by Africa's Diaspora, 'Harnessing Human Capital' is highlighted in the chapter written by ReConnect Africa Editor, Frances Williams, while film maker Carol Pineau examines how Africa is reported to the world in 'Africa and the Media – Who is failing whom?'

"'Africa - The Good News' is not about despair. It is about hope," say the editors. "In that context we have attempted to make this book readable to anyone who is interested in Africa's perception of itself, the new winds of change that are gusting over her nations and the growing opportunity in arguably the most ethnically diverse, biologically rich, scenically beautiful continent in the world!"

For Berndsen and Pennington, this book is also intended to help Africans feel a sense of pride about their continent.

"We hope that this book will be a starting point to changing perceptions of Africa by encouraging the world to look at the continent in a different way and to see her for what she is today. We also hope that it will give Africans confidence in Africa's future."