Encyclopedia of Africa: Two-volume set [Hardcover]

Henry Louis Gates Jr. (Editor), Kwame Anthony Appiah (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195337700 | ISBN-13: 978-0195337709 | Publication Date: February 17, 2010 | Edition: First Edition

The Encyclopedia of Africa presents the most up-to-date and thorough reference on this region of ever-growing importance in world history, politics, and culture. Its core is comprised of the entries focusing on African history and culture from 2005's acclaimed five-volume Africana - nearly two-thirds of these 1,300 entries have been updated, revised, and expanded to reflect the most recent scholarship. Organized in an A-Z format, the articles cover prominent individuals, events, trends, places, political movements, art forms, business and trade, religions, ethnic groups, organizations, and countries throughout Africa. There are articles on contemporary nations of sub-Saharan Africa, ethnic groups from various regions of Africa, and European colonial powers. Other examples include Congo River, Ivory trade, Mau Mau rebellion, and Pastoralism. The Encyclopedia of Africa is sure to become the essential resource in the field.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Oxford has taken a selection of entries from the five-volume Africana (2005) and reassembled them in this two-volume encyclopedia covering “prominent individuals, events, trends, places, political movements, art forms, business and trade, religions, ethnic groups, organizations, and countries throughout Africa.” On their way to becoming part of the new set, nearly two-thirds of the 1,300 selected entries were revised to reflect more recent scholarship and events through, in some cases, 2009. The A–Z entries are preceded by a chronology and followed by a “Topical Outline of Selected Entries,” a two-and-a-half-page bibliography organized by subject, and an index. The fact that only a handful of titles in the bibliography have copyright dates later than 2000 is a concern, especially because very few of the entries have bibliographies attached. On the other hand, there is evidence of updating throughout the rest of the set; for example, the death of South African singer Miriam Makeba and the election of a women majority legislature in Rwanda in 2008, the death of former Sudanese president Gaafar Muhammad al-Nimeiry and trouble with militant groups in Niger in 2009. The “At a Glance” tables in country entries have been updated, with much of the data drawn from estimates for 2009. Despite the revisions, libraries that already own Africana may not feel that this new set is a necessary purchase. However, public, and college libraries in need of a current resource on Africa will want to consider it. --Mary Ellen Quinn

Review

"The Encyclopedia of Africa is well written and enjoyably readable...with major scholars (J. Lorand Matory, Ali Mazrui, et al.) contributing substantive, even pathbreaking work. Highly recommended."--CHOICE

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 1392 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; First Edition edition (February 17, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195337700
• ISBN-13: 978-0195337709
• Product Dimensions: 15.5 x 10.6 x 5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,089,121 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

• Due to this item's unusual size or weight, it requires special handling and will ship separately from other items in your order. Read More

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Elegant and up to date reference volumes on Africa, with some limitations, March 12, 2010

By 

Michael A. Duvernois (Minneapolis, MN United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Encyclopedia of Africa: Two-volume set (Hardcover)

This is likely to mostly be a reference library sort of item. It's not cheap, and a decent fraction of the historical, geographical, and political coverage can be found on wikipedia or other, free, online references. Its value, therefore, comes at least in part as being a respectable reference for a high school research paper. I'd expect college students to use the primary source materials instead. Henry Louis Gates lends his impressive background as a testament to the seriousness of the project.

Do take a look at the sample entry, linked from amazon, which is the entry on Nigeria. This gives a good feel for the amount of coverage available even in a thick pair of volumes such as these. The entry covers the history, especially post-Colonial in some detail, but has little coverage of the cultural works of Nigeria or much depth in looking at the current political situation there. This is a natural limitation in trying to cover a full continent in a pair of volumes which can be lifted by one person.

The main limitation of these books, other than the limit of how much can be covered in books of this size, is the lack of material written by Africans. Much of the work is from scholars of Africa, writing from a distance. In fact, many of these individuals are better known for their work in African-American studies. The African-American experience seems to color some of the entries, and not just the obvious ones related to slavery or the African diaspora, but the entries on African religious life appear to be filtered through the experience of Black churches in America.

Okay, that said, these are impressive volumes and we can look forward to the day when scholars at the Universities of Cairo, Harare, and Monrovia edit the 7th edition...