Africa

May 15, 2016
Despite the vast differences within Africa, contemporary scholarship has not been able to delineate how to best study Africa and its peoples. The defaultalthough fraught with issueshas been to examine the countries in Africa. This three-volume work explores each of the African countries, outlining each country's geography, ethnicities, languages, religions, social customs, lifestyle, employment, cuisine, traditional dress, festivals and holidays, sports and games, arts, literary traditions, architecture and housing, and the media. The entries are alphabetically arranged by country. Each entry begins with the country's map and Quick Facts, which list major countries, population, languages, ethnic groups, and religions. Sidebars provide sharper focus on special features of the country or its peoples. In some cases, these sidebars are recipes. Each entry ends with suggestions for further reading. Entries are on the lengthy side, allowing authors to more fully explore the subject matter and its nuances. The depth is arguably the encyclopedia's most valuable contribution. A few entries end with a Looking Forward section, which would have been a helpful addition for all entries. Overall, given the depth of coverage, this is a very useful work for those interested in learning about contemporary African countries and their peoples.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)