An African Biographical Dictionary - Hardcover

It has been 12 years since the original publication of this title by ABC-CLIO. The new edition is 30 percent larger than its predecessor, and 170 of the entries are new. In addition, 349 of the 549 original entries have been rewritten. Six individuals who appeared in the first edition have been dropped from the second. A sample of new entries includes those for Wangari Maathai, Mariama Ba, Keith Goddard, and Jacob Zuma.

Coverage is both historical and contemporary. The geographical scope is smaller than the title might indicate, since only nations south of the Sahara are included. Indian Ocean island states are included, however. As in the first edition, many of those who are covered are political leaders, although there are also some artists, businesspeople, religious leaders, scientists, and athletes. There is a good balance between men and women.

All the sources cited in the bibliography are either other biographical encyclopedias or Internet sites; no original source material seems to have been consulted. This would seem to indicate that the information could be located in any of several other books a library may already own. However, having the information under one cover makes sense if the library is in need of good biographical coverage of Africa.

Entries are indexed by country. There is also an A-Z subject index. Several color maps show current national boundaries as well as colonial boundaries and original kingdoms. It is too bad smaller nations of today could not be listed on the maps, leaving some readers to wonder where the Comoros or Mauritius are located. Overall, this is a good title for public and school libraries, not required for academic collections. Steve Stratton
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Rake's work covers all areas and time periods of Africa, from Queen Hatshepsut of ancient Egypt to Nelson Mandela, and is divided into ten general categories (e.g., those who resisted the imposition of colonialism). Given its historical bent, it complements Rake's Who's Who in Africa: Leaders for the 1990s (LJ 6/1/92), which lists current leaders. Collections seeking a strictly historical emphasis may wish to consider Mark Lipschutz and Kent Rasmussen's Dictionary of African Historical Biography (Univ. of California Pr., 1986. 2d ed.) or Makers of Modern Africa (Africa Books, 1991. 2d ed. o.p.); although their coverage stops earlier than Rake's, they include more names. Brockman's dictionary, on the other hand, excludes North Africa and Egypt while listing 549 names and emphasizing the postcolonial period. Entries are arranged alphabetically. A few portraits are included as well as some suggestions for further reading. If an emphasis on contemporary names is desired, in addition to Brockman collections may want Africa Who's Who (Africa Books, 1991. 2d. ed. o.p.), which has 12,000 entries. Despite their overlap, larger collections will want all these volumes; smaller ones would find either Rake and Brockman (or, alternately, the volumes published by Africa Books) sufficient.?Paul H. Thomas, Hoover Inst. Lib., Stanford, Cal.
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