You'll be unsurprised to learn that Thomas Pakenham's The Scramble for Africa deals with, well, the Scramble for Africa. It's a pretty good, if slightly by-the-numbers, popular introduction to the period. A good place to start, I'd suggest.

The Fate of Africa, by Martin Meredith. It covers the colonial and post-colonial history of Africa up through post-Apartheid South Africa.

Congo by David van Reybrouck, it has been translated to English. Nice start before you head off for the serious stuff.