$33.50?! Is that how much I shelled out, or did I order an
examination copy? I don't remember. Anyway, it may be as close to
one-stop reading for an African history survey as we will ever (want
to) get. The idea of a collective H-AFRICA review and responses is
intriguing, and I look forward to it/them.
For now, I'll just say, in response to Tim Burke's concerns, that the
focus of the volume, as intended by the editors, is decidedly
pre-colonial; 397 pp. (out of 530 total) precede Chapter 15, "The
European Conquest". Given the overall quality and coverage of the
pre-colonial chapters, I've considered using the book for my
non-sequence, pre-colonial survey this winter; a few films, a
novel, slides or other relatively low-cost (to the student)
supplements could produce a not-too-hefty total expenditure for the
course. And a break from organizing another customized course packet
of up-to-date readings would be very refreshing.
On the other hand, the colonial and post-colonial component of a
two-part sequence would surely require material in addition to
Curtin, et al., given both the orientation (dare I say generation?)
of the authors and the many new (dare I say revisionist?) and
far-reaching perspectives on the post-1880 period, into which most of
the recent scholarship in African history seems to fall.