A study of African communities in the lands surrounding the Indian Ocean. Each essay looks at a particular aspect of the diaspora, such as Malagasy culture and the identities of islanders in the Seychelles, Mauritius and Reunion. Index, notes, 292pp, USA. AFRICA WORLD PRESS, 086543980X

The wooden dhow, with its characteristic lateen sail, is an appropriate icon for the early trading world of the Indian Ocean. It was based on free trade unhindered by monopolies or superpower domination and pre-dated 'globalisation' by thousands of years. It carried a motley crew of sailors, traders and passen-gers, and many commodities, but the dhow was not merely an inanimate transporter of goods and people, but an animated means of social interaction. The dhow was at the mercy of the seasonal monsoons, but mercifully this very fact multiplied opportunities for social interaction between the sailors and traders with their hosts around the rim of the Indian Ocean, giving birth to cosmopolitan populations and cultures. The dhow was thus a vehicle for a genuine dialog between civilizations. The global world of the Indian Ocean had matured by the fifteenth century. Islam was the most widespread religion along its rim, but it had spread not by the sword but through peaceful commerce. The heroes of this world were not the continental empires but a string of small port city-states, from Kilwa in East Africa to Melaka in Malaysia. Nor was their influence confined to the littoral, but penetrated deep into continental hinterlands economically, socially and culturally. Into this world two major incursions occurred from opposite directions, the Chinese expeditions in the early fifteenth century and the Portuguese at the end of it. The contrast could not have been more stark between the Indian Ocean tradition of free trade that the Chinese espoused, despite their enormous strength, and the Vasco da Gama epoch of armed mercantilism that ultimately led to colonial domination. 288pp, UK. HURST.

Captures the complexities of emerging Indian Ocean realities: Somali pirates astound international media audiences; the new economic super-powers, India and China exert palpable global influence, squabbling for control of shipping lanes and oil supplies and for dominance of African markets and minerals; Al-Qaida continues to operate around the Indian Ocean littoral in Tanzania, Kenya, Comoros, Indonesia and Yemen. With a foreword by novelist Amitav Ghosh, many of whose novels address the Indian Ocean, this collection of essays asks what the Indian Ocean means now. What are the links, circuits and exchanges that both unite and divide different regions? Is there an idea of the Indian Ocean? Building on older traditions of studying the Indian Ocean, this book offers new departures. Much Indian Ocean scholarship focuses on South Asia or the Middle East. How does one factor Africa into this Ocean world? 408pp, SOUTH AFRICA. UNISA PRESS.

12 tracks by the group from Reunion. FRANCE. HARMONIA MUNDI UK LTD.

The Sea of Zanj has been a place of myth and mystery since time immemorial, and its islands have captured countless imaginations. Mauritius, Réunion and Rodrigues, the Seychelles and Madagascar - T.V. Bulpin recounts their stories and histories; stories of strange animals and exotic places, of pirates and runaway slaves, of forgotten kingdoms and deadly welcomes. 440pp, SOUTH AFRICA. PROTEA BOOK HOUSE.

This Compact Disc journeys throughout the music of the Indian Ocean, with 17 artists discovered and backed by the festival Musiques Métisses (Angouleme, France). They come from Madagascar, Reunion, the Comoros and Mauritius, and they illustrate the richness and diversity of a region undergoing massive changes. FRANCE. MARABI PRODUCTIONS.