Makes available a unique corpus of primary-source material. Using this resource West African chronicles and oral traditions are reinterpreted, and the composite history of the Tuareg and Songhay is revealed. Also discusses linguistic and literary issues. BNS, 65 pp b/w plates, 312 line drawings, 650pp, UK. OXFORD UNIV PRESS, 0197262228

A study of the agro pastoral Fulbe and of how they cope with insecurity, focusing on the dynamic interplay between various ecological and historical realities. The authors also look at how these insecurities are borne by different groups in society. Notes, b/w illus, maps, 547pp, THE NETHERLANDS. THELA THESIS.

Explores the history and cultural context of family claims to power in Bamako, located in modern-day Mali in West Africa. Perinbam argues that these families manipulated traditional belief stystems in the quest for political power, economic success, and social status, offering insights into the processes of Mande social history. Notes, maps, bib, index, 341pp, USA, UK. WESTVIEW.

Recreates the events and annals of the kingdom of Segu and the Bambara tribe that formed a series of important city states along the Niger river during the seventeenth century. 178pp, USA. UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS PRESS.

At a time when so-called fundamentalism has become the privileged analytical frame for understanding Muslim societies past and present, this study offers an alternative perspective on Islam. In an innovative combination of anthropology, history, and social theory, Benjamin Soares explores Islam and Muslim practice in an important Islamic religious centre in West Africa from the late nineteenth century to the present. Drawing on ethnography, archival research, and written sources, Soares provides a richly detailed discussion of Sufism, Islamic reform, and other contemporary ways of being Muslim in Mali and offers an original analytical perspective for understanding changes in the practice of Islam more generally. Illus, 320pp, UK. EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY PRESS.

A introduction to this West African country struggling with the effects of an economic structural adjustment programme and inter-ethnic tensions. Looks at the lives of ordinary Malians and asks how they are surviving the changes which are transforming their nation, also at their culture, from village story-tellers to world-famous film makers and musicians like Salif Keita and Ali Farka Toure. Many b/w photos, 63pp, 190 x 245mm, UK. OXFAM PUBLICATIONS, 0855983345

Ethnographic study of fertility, analysing the rapidly changing urban environment's impact on demographic change in Mali. BNS, 340pp, NETHERLANDS. EJ BRILL, 9004120335

A compelling account of leprosy in colonial and post colonial Mali drawing on an extensive collection of life stories. By privileging African voices in the experience of the disease, the author presents a portrait of leprosy sufferers that belies their stereotype as pitiable victims and reveals them instead as vibrant historical actors. B/w illus, notes, gloss, map, bib, index, xi, 220pp, UK. JAMES CURREY PUBLISHERS, 0852556306

Taken from the oral tradition of the history of the Haayre by a griot at the court of Dalla, Aamadu Baa Digi. BNS, 150 pp in French and FulBe. NETHERLANDS. EJ BRILL, 9004124462

2002 Paperback

An oral account of the people, events and customs of the 18th and 19th Century Bamana city state of Segu (in what is now Mali) was recorded in 1976 by Tayiru Banbera, a hereditary professional bard, and is published here in translation. While no single oral narrative encompasses all that is known about Segu history, Tayiru covers almost all the major episodes, with his colourful language, clever dialogue, clever dialogue and thoughtful explanatory asides. He adds an extra dimension by providing a view of daily life in the period covered. Maps, tables, glos, index. x, 360pp. UK. OXBOW.

'provides a wealth of information on pre-modern West Africa, particularly on the Songhay empire of the Niger river region and on the conquest of that empire by the Moroccan Sa'di dynasty during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.' Stephen Cory, Religious Studies Review, 2000. 488pp, NETHERLANDS. BRILL, EJ, 9004128220

Counted as a success story on the continent because of achieving a peaceful transition to multi-party democracy after 23 years of brutal dictatorship, among other achievements, Mali is among the three top economic performers in West Africa, along with Benin and Senegal. The liberalisation of the economy by successive governments since 1991 and the introduction of market-based reforms have resulted in a strong economic performance. As a direct result of the development of three new mines by South African companies, gold production has grown almost eightfold in less than a decade. Apps, tables, charts, 147pp, SOUTH AFRICA. SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS.

Now in paperback. A memoir in which the author revisits his youth in Mali, his early love for Swedish girls and American rock and roll and his travels to Europe and the United States, bringing to life a generation of optimistic African who were drawn to the promise of western equality, but were confronted with racism and prejudice. xvi, 271pp, UK AYEBIA CLARKE PUBLISHING Ltd 0954702344