Africa south of the Sahara is a region in transition. The optimism of the early postindependence years has long since faded, replaced by a pervasive sense of crisis that typically includes slow and often negative economic growth, a crushing debt burden, hunger and ecological crisis, and the virtual collapse of the state in a number of countries. At the same time, the 1990s have seen recent cause for hope -- most dramatically, in the peaceful transition to black majority rule in South Africa. This much-needed text provides a broad and balanced introduction to the geography of this vast region. Examining sociocultural, political, and economic processes, patterns of resource utilization, and the dynamics of change in Africa's geography, the text is enhanced by vivid case studies, maps, and photographs. Also featured are lists of recommended reading and a glossary of key terms.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"Those familiar with Robert F. Stock and his work will have been anticipating this book with some relish. He has set himself a huge task, and this he has achieved with considerable success and some panache. Stock's analysis is considered and consistent, his material is bang up to date, and his illustrations are well prepared and copious. The severe lack of textbooks on Africa has created unmet demand for a book like this. Recent additions to the literature have tended to be either collections of contributions or relatively small volumes, but this book is in the big tradition of Hance, Harrison, Church, Morgan and Pugh, Mountjoy and Embleton--the standbys of the past generation. Africa South of the Sahara will prove valuable for the aware, intelligent layperson enquiring about Africa; for the undergraduate embarking upon a new regional interest; for the more advanced student of the continent as a source of information and analysis to be mined. It deserves to become a standard text for the human geography of Africa south of the Sahara in the 1990s. --Hamish A. C. Main, Ph.D., Division of Geography, Staffordshire University
"We've never had a geography of Africa text that examines the real issues of Africa's development crisis quite like this one does. Its comprehensiveness and balance are impressive. I found the approach fresh, informative, and provocative. It is written in clear prose, in a style that will give the text a long-life before a revised version is necessary. It includes chapters on patterns and processes affecting physical environments, salient social and cultural features, and an essential historical perspective to development and social change. Greatest emphasis is given to African economies and economic life, including a chapter devoted specifically to the extraordinary involvement and potential of women in development. The chapters on Africa's role in the world economy, relations of ideology and development, and development from within are important and welcome features that give this book particular relevance and enable it to stand apart from other geography texts on this region. Features that faculty and students will both look forward to using include well-chosen and written vignettes in each chapter, effective introductory essays at the start of each major section of the text (e.g., Africa in Historical Perspective, Dynamics of Population, Urban Economies and Societies, Resources). Also, the suggestions for further reading have been carefully chosen for each chapter. The text carries the earmarks of a thoughtful scholar who is personally well-acquainted with the complexities of trying to interpret contemporary Africa. I think Bob Stock succeeds admirably where no one else has for many years. This really will be a welcome text for courses on Africa! We've had a long drought." --Charles M. Good, Ph.D., Professor of Geography, Virginia Tech
"Robert Stock offers us a stimulating book on the geography of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Using a thematic and analytic approach, the author not only points to the various factors that have contributed to SSA's deepening crisis but he also points out the seeds of hope' that lie ahead in the region's vast potential. This is a well-balanced work that explains SSA's contemporary realities in a synthesis of historical, cultural, social political, and economic perspectives on the region. The book should make an excellent text at the undergraduate level and a must background reading to academics, politicians and development administrators. The author has made an excellent use of vignettes, maps, and figures providing readers with a rich set of materials illustrative of the thematic chapters. Robert Stock renders a perspective long overdue on SSA's geography." --Assefa Mehretu, Ph.D., Professor of Geography and African Studies, Michigan State University
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
"We've never had a geography of Africa text that examines the real issues of Africa's development crisis quite like this one does. Its comprehensiveness and balance are impressive. I found the approach fresh, informative, and provocative. It is written in clear prose, in a style that will give the text a long-life before a revised version is necessary. It includes chapters on patterns and processes affecting physical environments, salient social and cultural features, and an essential historical perspective to development and social change. Greatest emphasis is given to African economies and economic life, including a chapter devoted specifically to the extraordinary involvement and potential of women in development. The chapters on Africa's role in the world economy, relations of ideology and development, and development from within are important and welcome features that give this book particular relevance and enable it to stand apart from other geography texts on this region. Features that faculty and students will both look forward to using include well-chosen and written vignettes in each chapter, effective introductory essays at the start of each major section of the text (e.g., Africa in Historical Perspective, Dynamics of Population, Urban Economies and Societies, Resources). Also, the suggestions for further reading have been carefully chosen for each chapter. The text carries the earmarks of a thoughtful scholar who is personally well-acquainted with the complexities of trying to interpret contemporary Africa. I think Bob Stock succeeds admirably where no one else has for many years. This really will be a welcome text for courses on Africa! We've had a long drought." --Charles M. Good, Ph.D., Professor of Geography, Virginia Tech
"Robert Stock offers us a stimulating book on the geography of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Using a thematic and analytic approach, the author not only points to the various factors that have contributed to SSA's deepening crisis but he also points out the seeds of hope' that lie ahead in the region's vast potential. This is a well-balanced work that explains SSA's contemporary realities in a synthesis of historical, cultural, social political, and economic perspectives on the region. The book should make an excellent text at the undergraduate level and a must background reading to academics, politicians and development administrators. The author has made an excellent use of vignettes, maps, and figures providing readers with a rich set of materials illustrative of the thematic chapters. Robert Stock renders a perspective long overdue on SSA's geography." --Assefa Mehretu, Ph.D., Professor of Geography and African Studies, Michigan State University
About the Author
Robert Stock has had a long-standing interest in the geography of Africa that began with a four-year volunteer posting in Nigeria, his postgraduate education in African studies at Michigan State University and the University of Liverpool, and has continued with an ongoing program of research on the medical geography of Africa. Two previous books and numerous articles.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
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Interesting and easy read,
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This review is from: Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation (Texts In Regional Geography) (Paperback)
Really liked this book. Stock is talking about most of the different sides of Africa. And he is easy to read.
This book was defenetly worth a read through
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This review is from: Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation (Texts In Regional Geography) (Paperback)
It was fairly good service. It would have been better if I there was an alternative shipping method. There was one method and that took a while for it to come, but overall the product was in good shape and I am a satisified customer.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
The English satirist Jonathan Swift, writing in the early 18th century, commented on the prevalent ignorance about Africa and the African people: So geographers in Afric maps With savage pictures fill their gaps, And o'er uninhabitable downs Place elephants for want of towns. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
abnormal food shortages, crop refuse, rotational bush fallow, precolonial cities, urban informal economy, populist socialism, urban economies and societies, local development initiatives, conflict diamonds, pastoralist societies, global apartheid, savanna environments, participatory development, alley cropping Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
South Africa, New York, World Bank, United Nations, West Africa, Further Reading, East Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Oxford University Press, Cape Town, Third World, Burkina Faso, Lake Victoria, Sub-Saharan Africa, Cambridge University Press, United States, National Geographic, Lynne Rienner, Lake Chad, Human Development Report, Westview Press, Equatorial Guinea, Latin America, University of California Press New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
The English satirist Jonathan Swift, writing in the early 18th century, commented on the prevalent ignorance about Africa and the African people: So geographers in Afric maps With savage pictures fill their gaps, And o'er uninhabitable downs Place elephants for want of towns. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
abnormal food shortages, crop refuse, rotational bush fallow, precolonial cities, urban informal economy, populist socialism, urban economies and societies, local development initiatives, conflict diamonds, pastoralist societies, global apartheid, savanna environments, participatory development, alley cropping Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
South Africa, New York, World Bank, United Nations, West Africa, Further Reading, East Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Oxford University Press, Cape Town, Third World, Burkina Faso, Lake Victoria, Sub-Saharan Africa, Cambridge University Press, United States, National Geographic, Lynne Rienner, Lake Chad, Human Development Report, Westview Press, Equatorial Guinea, Latin America, University of California Press New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 100
books:
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13
books
cite this book:
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- The Physical Geography of Africa (Oxford Regional Environments) by W. M. Adams on 5 pages
- History of Africa, Revised 2nd Edition by Kevin Shillington on page 108, page 115, and page 120
- The Apartheid City and Beyond: Urbanization and Social Change in South Africa by David M. Smith on page 278, page 280, and page 436
- The Atlas of African Affairs by Ieuan L.l. Griffiths on page 26, page 136, and page 212
- Civil Society and the State in Africa by John W. Harbeson on page 55, page 145, and page 405
See all 100 books this book cites
- Political Ecology: A Critical Introduction (Critical Introductions to Geography) by Paul Robbins in Back Matter
- States and Power in Africa by Jeffrey Herbst on page 143
- The Non-Western World: Environment, Development and Human Rights by Pradyumna P. Karan on page 549
- Routledge Perspectives on Development - SET: Theories and Practices of Development (Volume 8) by Katie Willis in Back Matter
- Routledge Perspectives on Development - SET: An Introduction to Sustainable Development (Volume 7) by Jennifer A. Elliott in Back Matter
See all 13 books citing this book
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