Product Description
Africa is richly blessed with cultural and natural heritage, key resources for nation building and development. Unfortunately, heritage is not being systematically researched or recognised, denying Africans the chance to learn about and benefit from heritage initiatives. This book offers a preliminary discussion of factors challenging the management of intangible cultural heritage in the African communities of Zanzibar, Mauritius and Seychelles. These islands are part of an overlapping cultural and economic zone influenced by a long history of slavery and colonial rule, a situation that has produced inequalities and underdevelopment. In all of them, heritage management is seriously underfinanced and under-resourced. African descendant heritage is given little attention and this continues to erode identity and sense of belonging to the nation. In Zanzibar tensions between majority and minority political parties affect heritage initiatives on the island. In Mauritius, the need to diversify the economy and tourism sector is encouraging the commercialisation of heritage and the homogenisation of Creole identity. In Seychelles, the legacy of socialist rule affects the conceptualisation and management of heritage, discouraging managers from exploring the island's widerange of intangible heritages. The author concludes that more funding and attention needs to be given to heritage management in Africa and its diaspora. Rosabelle Boswell is a senior lecturer in the Anthropology Department at Rhodes University, South Africa and a specialist of the southwest Indian Ocean islands. Her research interests include ethnicity, heritage, gender and development. Boswell's PhD was on poverty and identity among Creoles in Mauritius and her most recent work is onthe role of scent and fragrances in the heritage of the Swahili islands of the Indian Ocean region. ... Read more

Product Description
This work examines the struggle between the Meru and Arusha peoples and their German and British rulers over the issue of land and agricultural development on Mount Meru in northern Tanzania. It shows how the Meru and Arashi, faced with an iron ring of land alienated by European settlers successfully intensified their own irrigated agriculture to bring about what has been termed an indigenous agricultural revolution. Tanzania: Mkuki na Nyota ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A nice blend of Kilimanjaro history, facts and photographs.
John Reader does a good job of combining historical, contemporary andnaturalist perspectives in a sometimes comical summary of his photographicexperience on Mt. Kilimanjaro. Not being a mountaneer, his story includesmany amusing anecdotes that anyone who has climbed the moutain can relateto. And although not the strongest point, the photographs add just theright amount of tangibility and perspective to elicit fond memories fromthose that have already climbed it, or a strong desire in those that arethinking about it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Kilimanjaro, The GreatWhite Mountain of Africa
My mom and brother both climbed Mt. Killimanjaro in Sept. 2001. And as a birthday gift to my mom I got her this book. I to have enjoyed looking at the pictuers and also I was in Africa as well but I only have seen the mountain through my mom's and brother's photos.
If you ever have a chance go and climb the moutain it will make you a different person.

The ultimate coffee table book for the Kili trekker!
What a gorgeous book!The photos and descriptions do a little justice to the real thing, making it much easier to try to explain to others the mulititude of ecosystems along the trail to the summit (brrrr!).Highly recommended! ... Read more

Product Description
This is the third edition of "Nyerere and Africa: End of an Era."

It is also the largest and includes new material not found in previous editions but is essentially the same work.

It is a comprehensive study of the political career of President Julius Nyerere spanning half a century.

Godfrey Mwakikagile takes a critical look at Nyerere's policies and influence in the domestic and international arenas for an objective evaluation of the life and times of one of the most influential leaders in the twentieth century. As one of the most well-known African scholars, Professor Ali Mazrui, stated in his tribute to Nyerere when Nyerere died: "He was one of the giants of the 20th century. He did bestride this narrow world like an African colossus."

The major role Nyerere played in the liberation of southern Africa is just one of the subjects addressed by the author. He also provides insights into Nyerere's personality from some of the people who knew him best.

Included in the book are interviews with some of the people who knew Nyerere since his childhood. Some of them were his teachers. And they outlived him.

Others were his schoolmates and colleagues in government and when he was a teacher. And some of them were his students.

Also included are interviews with some of his family members.

This is an essential study of post-colonial Africa. It is also a study in political leadership and Cold War politics in the African context, among many other subjects addressed in the book which should serve as a reference text for scholars and laymen alike interested in Africa and the Third World in general.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

A Great Pan-African
This book is about one of Afica's greatest statesman. Julius Kambarage Nyerere was born in 1922. He was President of Tanzania, from the country's independence in 1964. He retired in 1985 and died in 1999.

Nyerere has an enduring political legacy on the continent. His pan-African credentials are impeccable as he played a critical role in the hosting of the liberation movements fighting against colonialism in Southerrn Africa. He led Tanzania as an oasis of peace in a troubled region. He was affectionately known as Mwalimu (Swahili for teacher) and he taught Africa that power does not necessarily corrupt. He is one of those rare African leaders that are untainted by corruption but is rather well known for his humility and love of his people. He lived a simple life and was admired throughout the African continent.

Nyerere implemented a socialist economic programme (announced in the Arusha Declaration), and introduced a policy of collectivization in the country's agricultural system, known as Ujamaa or "familyhood". He had tremendous faith in rural African people and their traditional values and ways of life. He believed that life should be structured around the ujamaa, or extended family found in traditional Africa. He believed that Africans were naturally socialists, and that all they needed to do was return to their traditional mode of life and they would recapture it. This ujamaa system failed to boost agricultural output and by 1976, the end of the forced collectivization programme, Tanzania went from being one of the largest exporter of agricultural products in Africa to one of the largest importer of agricultural products on the continent.

Nyerere'sdisastrous socialist economic policies which kept Tanzania as one of the poorest countries in the world were his major flaw. However, by bowing graciously out pf power in 1985 and facilitating a smooth tsansfer of power, his legacy as a wise African leader endures.

This book is recommended reading for those who want to learn about Tanzania's recent history.

author, a shrewd intellectual in defence of liberation icons
This book is loaded with details about Nyerere and his policies, domestic and foreign, including a detailed analysis by the author.

But the analysis is somewhat flawed from an intellectual standpoint because the author, Godfrey Mwakikagile, seems to be biased towards Nyerere.

In fact we learn from the book that he knows President Nyerere's eldest son Andrew and went to school with him in Tanzania. They have known each other for years since they were teenagers. He was also in touch with him when he was writing the book. Some of the correspondence between the two is included in this work. That alone raises serious questions as to whether or not the author has written an objective account about President Nyerere. I strongly suspect that he is a friend of the Nyerere family although he doesn't say so in the book.

Godfrey does, however,admit that the last president of Tanzania, Benjamin Mkapa, knows him well and even helped him to go to school in the United States. And as is well-known, Mkapa himself was very close to Nyerere and was virtually handpicked, or highly recommended, by Mwalimu Nyerere to be the next president of Tanzania.

From reading the book, one comes to the conclusion that Godfrey Mwakikagile is one of those shrewd African intellectuals who gloss over mistakes made by the continent's liberation icons such as Nyerere and Nkrumah; in fact, he defends both in his book. The advantage they have, obviously because of their high intellectual calibre, is that they use very clever arguments to defend these leaders and it's not easy to refute them. Godfrey is no exception.

I must admit that he's a strong Pan-Africanist. But I dont think that he has been honest enough about Nyerere in his book.

But what else would you expect from Pan-Africanists like him when they write about legendary African leaders like Nyerere and Nkrumah? Tarnish their reputation? Of course not! But as intellectual authors, they should tell the whole truth instead of being selective in their presentation of facts in pursuit of their Pan-Africanist agenda.

When Godfrey Mwakikagile was interviewed by an American journalist, he said he intended to write another book about Nyerere and Nkrumah. The interview is included in his book about Nyerere. Well, if he does, I hope that he will have something critical to say about both leaders.

I understand what he's trying to do for the sake of Pan-African solidarity. But, please, don't sacrifice truth for that. One of the reasons Africa is in such a mess is because of the policies pursued by leaders such as Nyerere and Nkrumah, domestic and foreign, because they influenced others. For example Mugabe, who has destroyed Zimbabwe, makes no secret that Nkrumah and Nyerere inspired him a lot, although it is also true that these two leaders cannot be blamed for what he has done to his country. As Nyerere, quoted by the BBC, once told Mugabe: "You have inherited the jewel of Africa. Keep it that way." Well, as the saying goes, the rest is history.

But there is no question that both Nyerere and Nkrumah had enormous influence across the continent and still do. Even when they were wrong, other African leaders followed in their foot-steps. They were probably the most influential leaders in post-colonial Africa and in this century together with Nelson Mandela (Madiba) who was also a very close personal friend of Nyerere.

Their names are engraved in gold. They have left an indelible mark on the minds of millions of Africans and others and will always remain a source of inspiration to them; and even to me, sometimes!

But also be honest enough to write books about their mistakes. That is your role as intellectuals. I hope Godfrey Mwakikagile is going to heed that advice if he does indeed write another book about African heroes such as Nyerere and Nkrumah, and even about Madiba!

Great book about a great leader
Mwalimu Julius Nyerere was one of the greatest leaders in the history of our continent. He was also one of the greatest world leaders. Without Nyerere and Tanganyika, later Tanzania, under his leadership problems in my country, neighbouring Congo (DRC), would have been much worse. In fact, in the sixties, my own home province of South Kasai almost seceded and could have become like Katanga Province.

Nyerere played a great role in supporting Lumumba and his followers to help keep my country united and free from foreign domination. Tanzania has also always played a major role as a sanctuary for refugees from Congo and other neighbouring countries. Without Nyerere's and Tanzania's hospitality, the fate of my people and others in the Great Lakes region would have been much, much worse. They would suffered immeasurably through the decades.

This book is a masterpiece on Nyerere's political career and brilliant leadership. But it is more than that.

One of its strongest points is its comprehensive nature covering Nyerere's entire life since his childhood. It is also an excellent analysis of his policies and leadership domestically and internationally. The author, Godfrey Mwakikagile, has also provided us with an excellent analytical history of Africa since independence. His knowledge of the African liberation struggle and movements in southern Africa is equally impressive, and it is one of the subjects he has addressed in a comprehensive way in this large volume.

Anyone interested in African studies, especially since independence, and in the life and career of Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, The Great Teacher, should read this book written by a leading African scholar and political scientist from neighbouring Tanzania. As a Congolese myself just across the border from Kigoma, a town and port on Lake Tanganyika where the author was born in what was then Tanganyika as he states in his book, and as a fellow African, I am really proud of him.

Asante sana (Thank you very much) Ndugu (Brother) Mwakikagile.

comprehensive workon Nyerere
I have done scholarly research on African politics for more than 40 years and this is one of the best books and reference texts I have ever read. And it is probably the best one, so far, on the late Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere.

World-nenowned African scholar, Professor Ali Mazrui from Kenya who is also chancellor ofthe Jomo Kenyatta University ofAgriculture and Technology (appointed by Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki) once said that among all African leaders, Julius Nyerere was the most original thinker in Anglophone Africa, and Leopold Sedar Senghor in Francophone Africa. It was an objective evaluation. But I wish to go further than that.

Julius Nyerere was probably the most original thinker among all African leaders. In terms of high intellect, he was second to none. And in terms of philosophical thinking and ideological originality and clarity, he was also second to none. President Senghor may have been his intellectual equal, but Senghor's contribution was limited to a few areas, especially on Negritude (which was not even his original concept but Aime Cesaire' from Martinique) and speculative poetry.

In this expanded edition, Tanzanian writer and scholar Godfrey Mwakikagile has provided us with an in-depth study and a wide range of knowledge about Nyerere and his policies, domestic and foreign, as well as an interesting background on the early days of one of the most influential world leaders in the twentieth century who had humble origins in a simple African village of Butiama in northern Tanganyika, what is Tanzania today, near the shores of Lake Victoria. And in spite of his towering stature on the international scene and in academic circles where he was greatly admired and respected as an intellectual president, he remained humble and extremely close to the grassroots, venerated by the masses until his last days.

Reading this book is virtually standing in front of Nyerere, listening to what he is saying, what he is teaching, and what he is thinking on domestic and international issues. Probably his greatest contribution on a continental scale was the unsurpassed role he played in spearheading the liberation struggle in southern Africa. No other African leader came even close to him in that regard besides Kwame Nkrumah who, unfortunately, was overthrown with the help of the CIA in February 1966 before his full impact on the freedom struggle in southern Africa could be felt.

Nyerere's death was indeed the end of an era of which some of us were an integral part. But to appreciate the scope and full extent of all this, you have to read this book which should be on the shelves of public and university libraries everywhere, but especially in Africa to whose well-being Mwalimu dedicated his entire life.

Farewell Mwalimu. We miss you.

Phenomenon!
An eye opener for thosewho think nothing positive ever emerged from Africa! A well researched piece of work! It is a manual for all of us who aspire to see the genuine and authentic people-centered leadership in Africa. Mwalimu, as correctly exhibited by Godfrey was an icon not only for Africa but for the entire world. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a book about contradictions. About the men who are better at housework than women and still retain their view of themselves as real men. In colonial Tanganyika, when housework for some was transformed into wage labour for others, the only available labour force was predominantly male, so men became domestic servants, even nursemaids to babies.Even today men are preferred over women as servants. Paradoxically, these were also militant domestics, in an occupation usually characterised by passivity and inability to organise.A wave of strikes involving domestic workers swept East Africa in the 1950s-60s.Given this unusual militancy, why did domestic servants become so politically passive after independence?And equally contradictory: how did an institution so sharply expressing class differences persist in a period when the Tanzanian state was proclaiming 'socialism' and the end of class exploitations? Exploring the institution of domestic service, this book discloses processes of postcolonial class formation both as exploitation and cultural elaboration.It also uncovers gender struggles amongst workers and those who employ them. ... Read more

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A superb, coffee-table edition on this magnificent park highlighting the special features of each region, and detail their relevance in the yearly, circuitous trek from south to north and back again. The introductory chapters focus on both the landscape and animal inhabitants, with a special emphasis on the spectacle of large-herd migration. Predators of the region are also featured, along with images of the raw energy and agitation they introduce to an otherwise pastoral scene. Bird life in the Serengeti is captured too, as are the vast weather systems that sweep across the plains. Through the evocative text and the striking images we are transported to this vibrant and awe-inspiring spectacle. ... Read more

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In this text, international figures such as Father Huddleston and Sir Shridath Ramphal join with Tanzanian scholars to assess, not without criticism, the influential contributions of Julius Nyerere both within his own country and across the Third World. Part 1 provides an overview of the man and his thought. Part 2 focuses on those areas of policy in which Nyerere took a particular interest. Part 3 concentrates on the major social, economic and political issues that have been central to the unique Tanzanian experience - unique because of the man who shaped the first quarter of a century of independence. North America: Africa World Press; Tanzania: Mkuki na Nyota ... Read more

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"Hodgson presents us with a complex, interactive picture of change over time, one dominated neither by the Maasai nor the state and development apparatus. . . . The Maasai emerge not simply as the 'intrepid warriors' envisioned by government and development officials, or even sometimes by themselves, but as active agents in the construction of their own history. This history, however, is often contradictory, contested, and varied." --Jane Parpart ... Read more

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This collection of essays offers a new paradigm, in which the trans-Saharan and trans-Atlantic worlds of slavery are brought into focus under the same lens. While slave studies have considered either trans-Atlantic or Islamic slavery, rarely has any study combined the enslavement of Africans in America and the Lands of Islam in one volume. Both the Saharan and Atlantic worlds imported enslaved populations from western and central Sudan, but in general the two markets have been treated in isolation and without reference to the common bond of Islam and the multiple roles that Islam has played in the history of slavery, whether in West Africa itself, the Americas, or the Islamic Mediterranean. Western Africa served as the point of dispersion across desert and sea, but it was also the final destination of many of those who were enslaved but who were not transported across the Atlantic or the Sahara. The relationship between Islam and slavery is explored as a series of frontiers: in the Americas between enslaved Muslims and their Christian masters and the types of resistance and accommodation that arose there; in West Africa between Muslim and non-Muslim societies and the attempts at defining who was a Muslim in terms of issues of enslavement; in North Africa between Muslim masters and the enslaved population from West Africa and the popularity of spirit possession cults. The resistance of Muslims to assimilation and the accommodation of Muslims to bondage also created other frontiers that are explored in this book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Midwest Book Review
"A college-level readership will find these informed, informative, and strongly recommended essays will provide them with exceptionally important insights into the political and religious issues in the Sudan. . . . Intriguing comparisons and analysis." --Midwest Book Review

Slavery on the frontiers of Islam
This collection of essays offers a new paradigm, in which the trans-Saharan and trans-Atlantic worlds of slavery are brought into focus under the same lens. While slave studies have considered either trans-Atlantic or Islamic slavery, rarely has any study combined the enslavement of Africans in America and the Lands of Islam in one volume. Both the Saharan and Atlantic worlds imported enslaved populations from western and central Sudan, but in general the two markets have been treated in isolation and without reference to the common bond of Islam and the multiple roles that Islam has played in the history of slavery, whether in West Africa itself, the Americas, or the Islamic Mediterranean. Western Africa served as the point of dispersion across desert and sea, but it was also the final destination of many of those who were enslaved but who were not transported across the Atlantic or the Sahara.
The relationship between Islam and slavery is explored as a series of frontiers:
w in the Americas between enslaved Muslims and their Christian masters and the types of resistance and accommodation that arose there;
w in West Africa between Muslim and non-Muslim societies and the attempts at defining who was a Muslim in terms of issues of enslavement;
w in North Africa between Muslim masters and the enslaved population from West Africa and the popularity of spirit possession cults.
The resistance of Muslims to assimilation and the accommodation of Muslims to bondage also created other frontiers that are explored in this book.

Incorporates similar questions on each under one cover
The high price tag of Slavery On The Frontiers Of Islam will limit its acquisition to all but the most dedicated of multicultural and Islamic Studies collections; but a college-level readership will find these informed, informative, and strongly recommended essays will provide them with exceptionally important insights into the political and religious issues in the Sudan. Slave studies usually consider trans-Atlantic slavery or slavery in Islamic nations as separate phenomenon: compiled and edited by Paul Lovejoy, Slavery On The Frontiers Of Islam deftly incorporates similar questions on each under one cover, and goes on to provide intriguing comparisons and analysis. ... Read more

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Many of the people who identify themselves as Maasai, or who speak the Maa language, are not pastoralist at all, but framers and hunters. Over time many people have 'become' something else, adn what it means to be Maasai has changed radically over the past several centuries and is still changing today. This collection by historians, archaeologists, anthropologists and linguists examines how Maasai identity has been created, evoked, contested and transformed. North America: Ohio U Press; Tanzania: Mkuki na Nyota; Kenya: EAEP ... Read more