Africa
An Encyclopedia of Culture and Society [3 volumes]
by Toyin Falola and Daniel Jean-Jacques, Editors
December 2015, 1366pp, 8 1/2x11
3 volumes, ABC-CLIO

Hardcover: 978-1-59884-665-2
$339, £261, 295€, A465
eBook Available: 978-1-59884-666-9
Please contact your preferred eBook vendor for pricing.

Africa is home to some of the world’s oldest and longest-lasting civilizations.

These volumes offer a one-stop resource for researching the lives, customs, and cultures of Africa's nations and peoples.

Unparalleled in its coverage of contemporary customs in all of Africa, this multivolume set is perfect for both high school and public library shelves. The three-volume encyclopedia will provide readers with an overview of contemporary customs and life in North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa through discussions of key concepts and topics that touch everyday life among the nations’ peoples.

While this encyclopedia places emphasis on the customs and cultural practices of each state, history, politics, and economics are also addressed. Because entries average 14,000 to 15,000 words each, contributors are able to expound more extensively on each country than in similar encyclopedic works with shorter entries. As a result, readers will gain a more complete understanding of what life is like in Africa’s 54 nations and territories, and will be better able to draw cross-cultural comparisons based on their reading.

Features

  • Supplies entries that are more extensive than in most comparable encyclopedic works
  • Arranges content alphabetically by country, then by topic, with suggestions for further reading following each
  • Includes contributions from numerous eminent scholars of African history
  • Provides a clear African voice via entries from scholars from the African continent
Toyin Falola, PhD, is a university distinguished teaching professor and holder of the Jacob & Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities at the University of Texas at Austin. His outstanding career in African history spans more than three decades and has generated well over 100 book-length publications.

Daniel Jean-Jacques is a graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin, where he studies the history of science in late colonial Nigeria. He received his master's degree from the University of Central Florida, where he researched Somali piracy and taught world history.

Awards

Best Reference 2015—Library Journal, February 26, 2016

2016 Top Community College Resource, September 7, 2016

Outstanding Academic Title, 2016 —Choice, January 1, 2017

2017 Outstanding Reference Source—RUSA, January 1, 2017

Reviews

"Overall, given the depth of coverage, this is a very useful work for those interested in learning about contemporary African countries and their peoples."—Booklist, April 28, 2016

"Summing Up: Highly recommended. All libraries. All levels."—Choice, August 1, 2016

"Africa: An Encyclopedia of Culture and Society is an impressive compilation. It will be of most interest to those wanting to gain an understanding of the culture and social practices of specific African countries, perhaps because of travel, voluntary work or study. For study purposes, the level of treatment provided is most suitable for undergraduates or senior school students."—Reference Reviews, August 1, 2016
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