Senegambia: Land of the Lion FROM THE PUBLISHER
Blessed with natural harbors and fertile lands, Africa's West Atlantic coast has long been the scene of dramatic historical achievements. Beginning in the 12th century, five great Wolof kingdoms flourished along the Senegal and Gambia rivers, their refined way of life exemplified by the philosopher Cothi-Barma, whose courage and wisdom placed him in the ranks of the world's great sages.
FROM THE CRITICS
School Library Journal
Gr 8-UpThis problematic volume is rather like a book entitled France: The Netherlands. Unlike most of the other series entries, which deal either with one kingdom or a number of states sharing a single language, European-named Senegambia and Sierra Leone (Land of the Lion) are separated by the lands that make up the present-day Guineas, and neither was ever a unified African kingdom. Readers already familiar with African history will draw out commonalties to which Koslow alludes: the significance of village life, the welcoming of useful ethnic "strangers" into the margins of the local society, the centralizing role of increasing trade, the growth of reforming Islam. But these and other basic concepts are likely to be lost to readers wading through the succession of unfamiliar names and events. The confusion is confounded by the choice and placement of illustrations, with Guinean sculptures in a chapter on Senegambia and a delightful section of present-day Senegalese glass paintings within the chapter on early Sierra Leone. The index and glossary are thin. The maps omit crucial ecological features. A few inaccuracies crop up, but not major problems of fact or interpretation. Tijan M. Sallah's Wolof (Rosen, 1996) provides historical information on that key group in Senegambia.Loretta Kreider Andrews, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, MD
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