The Peoples of the Middle Niger: The Island of Gold (Peoples of Africa) [Hardcover]

Roderick James Mcintosh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 23, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0631173617 | ISBN-13: 978-0631173618 | Edition: 1

This book provides the first comprehensive history of the peoples of the Middle Niger written by an English-speaking scholar.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"McIntosh's contribution is an immensely scholarly and in some ways a subversive book. The great strength of McIntosh's book is in its implicit demand that we re-examine the comfortable old taxonomies." History Today

"A splendid achievement ... this volume sets a new standard of thoroughness in the presentation of West African history." Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies

From the Back Cover

This book provides the first comprehensive history of the peoples of the Middle Niger written by an English-speaking scholar. "The Island of Gold" was the medieval Muslim and later European name for a fabled source of gold and other tropical riches. Although the floodplain of the Niger river lies far from the goldfields, the mosaic of peoples along the Middle Niger created a wealth in grain, fish and livestock that supported some of Africa's oldest cities, including Timbuktu. These ancient cities of the region that came to be known as Western Sudan were founded without outside stimulation and their inhabitants long resisted the coercive, centralized state that characterized the origins of earliest towns elsewhere.

In this book, Roderick James McIntosh uses the latest archeological and anthropological research to provide a bold overview of the distant origins of life for the inhabitants of the Middle Niger, and an explanation for their social evolution. He shows, for instance, the difficulties the peoples faced in adapting to an unpredictable climate, and how their particular social organization determined the unusual nature of their responses to that change. Throughout the book oral traditions are integrated into the story, providing vivid insights into the inhabitants' complex culture and belief systems.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell; 1 edition (October 23, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0631173617
• ISBN-13: 978-0631173618
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,099,035 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #10 in Books > History > Africa > Niger
  • #20 in Books > History > Africa > Senegal
  • #33 in Books > History > Africa > Mali

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