This is an abridged edition of Volume VI of the much-acclaimed UNESCO General History of Africa. Conceived in the 1960s, the last volume was published in 1993. Since then, the project continues to be pursued in the publication of abridged editions, with volumes 1, 2, 4 and 7 now in print. Some volumes are also being translated into a number of African languages. There is no effort to update the research, with the result that many findings and approaches reflect the thinking of the 1960s and 1970s.

The abridged edition under review shares the good qualities of an ambitious edited volume. It covers a number of subjects. Arranged mainly by regions, developments in the history of Africa are reviewed, with a focus on the leading historical themes. The Mfecane and the occupation of South Africa lead the themes in Southern Africa; jihads, warfare, and trade dominate the treatment of West Africa; trade and religion are the focus for East Africa; internal development and European contacts are treated in the north. Two overview chapters by the editor, consisting of an introduction and conclusion, summarize the major events. A chapter on the African diaspora and another on the world economy are the two major free-standing themes. The period covered is from ca. 1800 to the mid-1880s.

The abridged edition ignores footnotes, but the wide range of sources in the bibliography provide the reader with additional literature to consult. Unlike the preceding volumes in the series, however, the sources for the nineteenth century are more numerous and reliable, a fact reflected in the assured statements and interpretations in many of the chapters. As the bibliography is not arranged by subjects or chapters, beginners may find it difficult to use. Those seeking evaluation of the sources may have to consult the original edition. All the authors are respectable and distinguished scholars, with many of them using this opportunity to repeat the findings of their previous studies. If the intention is to simplify history, the book achieves its stated goal. It is readable, although the overall picture remains somewhat unclear, in spite of the editor's summary of the events of the nineteenth century. Many of the illustrations are well produced and useful, although more maps would have enhanced readability and presentation. As a classroom text, teachers would have to work many of the chapters into individualized syllabi. Following the arrangement in the book could provide an excessive amount of information that students may find either boring or cumbersome. The general reader will profit from reading the chapters, as they are more detailed than those found in most recent encyclopedias. For specialists, it would be best to read the original volume. The chapters are written from what may be called, for want of a better term, an "African perspective." African societies and the activities of their leaders dominate all the chapters, in spite of the great interactions with European traders, explorers, missionaries and colonizers. The intention is to use the chapters to show that African societies were not static, and that the changes of the period owed much to African initiatives rather than to contact with Europeans. In the introduction, the editor points out that many of the changes of the nineteenth century represent the continuation of events in earlier historical periods. Among the notable events of the century were demographic and population movements in different parts of Africa, an increasing European encroachment, improvements in agricultural systems, and a tendency toward centralized power structures, which promoted the emergence of many warriors and new states. It is indeed hard, if not impossible, to underestimate the European factor. The book closes on the eve of European conquest, but it shows the trends toward the incorporation of Africa into the world system. European commercial activities had profound effects on domestic production, slavery, competition for trade routes, and the supplies of guns and gunpowder, which in turn affected the nature of domestic warfare. An African elite benefited from the trade contacts by making, amassing, and gaining access to firearms to consolidate their hegemony. As chapter two shows, commercial relations led to the restructuring of many African states. While it appears a bit out of place, chapter 28 on the African diaspora examines the migrations out of Africa before and during the nineteenth century and the implications of these migrations for other parts of the world. The chapter offers a fascinating discussion of the back-to-Africa movement by blacks in North America.

This isan important book. The authors perceptively outline the major events in nineteenth century Africa, and they also excel in providing useful details and perspectives on a variety of issues. Advocates and critics of an Africa-centered approach will find more ammunition here to support their conflicting positions. The student audience will find the book comprehensive enough, while specialists will benefit by having a readable book to recommend for the pursuit of comparative studies. Above all, the book justifies itself as a worthy example of international collaboration, a great meeting of minds of Africanists located in different continents.

Toyin Falola
Department of History
The University of Texas at Austin