During the 1860s several thousand black Americans sought greater freedom by emigrating to the fledgling nation of Liberia. Between the years 1858 and 1874, black explorers James L. Sims, George L. Seymour and Benjamin J.K. Anderson explored the territory that is now Liberia and Guinea and described in striking detail the wealth and beauty of the region. This volume collects their travel diaries and provide a unique perspective on 19th century Liberian life before it was radically changed by European imperialism. BNS, b/w illus, 440pp, USA. INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS, 0253341949

Charts the role cotton has played in commercial, community, and labor settings in West Africa. By paying close attention to the details of how people made, exchanged, and wore cotton cloth from before industrialization in Europe to the twentieth century, she is able to demonstrate some of the cultural effects of Africa's long involvement in trading contacts with Muslim societies and with Europe. 240pp, USA. ALTAMIRA PRESS.

Martin Robison Delany is often considered the father of black nationalism in the United States. In this report, based on an exploratory journey he took to west Africa in 1859, he provides clear information about the conditions in the Niger Valley within the context of the relocation of African Americans. Discusses landscape, diseases, missionary activity as well the people inhabiting the area. Includes an introduction by Toyin Falola. 395pp, USA. HUMANITY, 1591021596

A study of the medieval empires of West Africa, exploring the rise and fall of their sphere of influence, and examining how their impact continues in the present day. Includes resources, maps, and a timeline. Index, bib, 128pp, USA. FACTS ON FILE.

Observance from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century

An examination of the social network created by commerce and marriage between European traders and West Africans from the Early Modern period to the Eighteenth century. Index, refs, maps, xxiii, 355pp, UK. JAMES CURREY PUBLISHERS, 0852554893

Before the Vichy regime, there was ostensibly only one France and one form of colonialism for French West Africa (FWA). World War II and the division of France into two ideological camps, each asking for legitimacy from the colonized, opened for Africans numerous unprecedented options. This study analyses three dramatic years in the history of FWA, from 1940 to 1943, in which the Vichy regime tried to impose the ideology of the National Revolution in the region. 264pp, USA. UNIVERSITY Of NEBRASKA PRESS.

Now in paperback. In 1788, a group of men met to discuss the possible exploration of the African interior, a place still shrouded in mystery and superstition for Europeans. The African Association was formed that year and for the next four decades, its members travelled the across the continent, exploring the Sahara, the Nile and the Niger and searching for the legendary city of Timbuktu. Their story of their travels are populated by French revolutionaries, slave traders, pirates and African royalty. The author, a renowned travel writer, reveals the drama and the tragedy of these adventures and their enduring legacies for later explorers such as Richard Burton. Illustrated with colour plates and maps. Index, bib, notes, xxvii, 382pp, UK. HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS, 0007122349

During its campaign against France in 1940, the German army massacred several thousand black POWs belonging to units drafted in France's West African colonies. This book for the first time documents these war crimes on the basis of extensive research in French and German archives. A massive Nazi propaganda offensive approved by Hitler, reviving traditional images of black soldiers as mutilating savages, formed the background for the massacres. The book shows, however, that the treatment of black French POWs was highly inconsistent and that abuses were often triggered by certain combat situations. It connects the massacres of black French soldiers to the debates on the Nazification of the German army during World War II and places them in the context of the treatment of non-white illegitimate combatants in colonial wars. 216pp, UK. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS.

How to portray the excitement of African societies to both the local communities and to tourists. Sixteen essays around four themes, relating mainly to cities in Ghana and Nigeria, but also Togo: Origins Of The Urban Phenomenon In Africa - Museums & Investigations Into Urban Culture - Urban Culture In Museums - The Role Of Museums In The Enhancement Of Urban Culture. 180pp, many photos, 216x 185mm, bib, UK. JAMES CURREY PUBLISHERS, 0852552750

For much of the twentieth century, France recruited colonial subjects from sub-Saharan Africa to serve in its military, sending West African soldiers to fight its battles in Europe, Southeast Asia, and North Africa. In this exemplary contribution to the new imperial history, Gregory Mann argues that this shared military experience between France and Africa was fundamental not only to their colonial relationship but also to the reconfiguration of that relationship in the postcolonial era. 296pp, USA. DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESS

Collection of Lovejoy's key essays on the history of slavery in the Sokoto Caliphate, the largest state in Africa in the 19th century. Lovejoy's work explores the role of the slave trade in the consolidation of that state - located in the interior of modern Nigeria, Niger, Benin and Camer-oon - before c.1900 when Muslim merchants and entrepreneurs dominated economy and society. 456pp, USA. AFRICA WORLD PRESS.

This is the first integrated history of the Ghana-Togo borderlands; it offers a challenging new contention that border peoples quickly became knowing and active participants in the shaping of this international boundary. 3 maps, 6 photos, 8 tables, 320pp, UK. JAMES CURREY PUBLISHERS, 0852554729

The little known story of Florence Baker, who accompanied her husband Sam on his journeys to chart the unknown interior of Africa. Born in the 1840s to an aristocratic family, she fled the Hungarian revolution and was later discovered in a Harem in the Ottoman Empire. Bought by Sam at an auction, she began a life of adventure in Africa and Victorian England during the golden age of exploration. Illustrated with b/w images. Maps, index, notes, xviii, 428pp, UK. BANTAM, 0593050061

2004 Hardback

There has long been a need for a new textbook on West Africa's history. This comprehensive collection draws on different disciplines and expertise, bringing together key themes from West Africa's prehistory to the present. Designed as a textbook for the undergraduate and graduate levels. Discusses various disciplinary approaches to West African history, provides overviews of the literature on major topics, and breaks new ground through the incorporation of original research. A truly collaborative effort, it represents a range of intellectual views and interpreta-tions. Index, maps, 323pp, UK. JAMES CURREY PUBLISHERS.

Now in paperback hardback previously published with the title 'The Stolen Woman'. An account of the little known story of Florence Baker, who accompanied her husband Sam on his journeys to chart the interior of Africa. Born in the 1840s to an aristocratic family, she fled the Hungarian revolution and was later discovered in a harem in the Ottoman Empire. Bought by Sam at auction, she began a life of adventure in Africa and Victorian England during the golden age of exploration. Illustrated with b/w images. Index, bib, notes, b/w photographs & illus, maps, timeline, 543pp, UK. CORGI.

Mary Kingsley began her life as a typically conventional Victorian woman, yet she travelled to some of the most inhospitable regions of Africa. At the age of 31 she travelled to West Africa - her first trip to the continent she had always dreamed of visiting. She sailed on a cargo ship along the coast from Sierra Leone to Angola and then travelled inland from Guinea to Nigeria, studying local customs. On her second journey, she ventured into remote parts of Gabon and the French Congo - the first European to do so. She encountered cannibals and crocodiles, studied the religious customs of the Fang, climbed Mount Cameroon and explored the Ogowe River, trading cloth for ivory and rubber to fund her trip. She returned only once to Africa, during the Boer War, when she worked as a nurse and journalist. Tragically, she died of typhoid in 1900, only 38 years old. Index, bib, notes, 333pp, UK. I B TAURIS.

A study of the anticolonial war. 1915-16. Probes the cultural and political origins of the anti-colonial movement, its internal organization, and the strategies of the anticolonial and colonial sides. 27 maps, 7 ill, app, notes, bib, xiii, 404pp, UK. JAMES CURREY PUBLISHERS.

A rewritten version of the author's classic History of West Africa 1000 1800 originally published in 1965. This new work has been reconceived for readers outside Africa, surveying the development and history of the peoples and empires of West Africa from earliest times to the mid nineteenth century. This title is now print on demand. B/w illus, maps, notes, refs, apps, index, xiii, 257pp, UK. PEARSON EDUCATION.

An ambitious and thorough re-evaluation of West African history, social organisation, culture, and its relationship with Western countries. The author, a respected scholar and award winning writer delves into the modern problems facing the region and proposes solutions using traditional political processes and customs. Richly illustrated with b/w photographs and detailed maps, each chapter ends with a series of questions on the concepts and ideas raised and suggestions for further reading. Index, gloss, bib, b/w photos, maps, tables, figs, 629pp, USA. CAROLINA ACADEMIC PRESS, 0890896496

2002 Paperback

Bridges the gap between particular case studies and general overviews by providing a comparative study of the two dominant colonial powers. Notes, index, xxi, 274pp, NIGERIA. MALTHOUSE, 9780231463

A study of Soninke labour migration within Africa and to France, based on a critical analysis of French pre-colonial and colonial records and interviews with Soninke migrants. The author challenges the conventional view of colonial coercion, showing that these migrations were driven by a search for improved economic options and have much in common with their European and American counterparts. Index, bib, notes, map, xvii, 371pp, UK. JAMES CURREY PUBLISHERS, 0852557566