Synopses & Reviews
Review
"Those familiar with Robert F. Stock and his work will have been anticipating this book with some relish. He has set himself a huge task, and this he has achieved with considerable success and some panache. Stock's analysis is considered and consistent, his material is bang up to date, and his illustrations are well prepared and copious. The severe lack of textbooks on Africa has created unmet demand for a book like this. Recent additions to the literature have tended to be either collections of contributions or relatively small volumes, but this book is in the big tradition of Hance, Harrison, Church, Morgan and Pugh, Mountjoy and Embleton--the standbys of the past generation. Africa South of the Sahara will prove valuable for the aware, intelligent layperson enquiring about Africa; for the undergraduate embarking upon a new regional interest; for the more advanced student of the continent as a source of information and analysis to be mined. It deserves to become a standard text for the human geography of Africa south of the Sahara in the 1990s. --Hamish A. C. Main, Ph.D., Division of Geography, Staffordshire University
"We've never had a geography of Africa text that examines the real issues of Africa's development crisis quite like this one does. Its comprehensiveness and balance are impressive. I found the approach fresh, informative, and provocative. It is written in clear prose, in a style that will give the text a long-life before a revised version is necessary. It includes chapters on patterns and processes affecting physical environments, salient social and cultural features, and an essential historical perspective to development and social change. Greatest emphasis is given to African economies and economic life, including a chapter devoted specifically to the extraordinary involvement and potential of women in development. The chapters on Africa's role in the world economy, relations of ideology and development, and development from within are important and welcome features that give this book particular relevance and enable it to stand apart from other geography texts on this region. Features that faculty and students will both look forward to using include well-chosen and written vignettes in each chapter, effective introductory essays at the start of each major section of the text (e.g., Africa in Historical Perspective, Dynamics of Population, Urban Economies and Societies, Resources). Also, the suggestions for further reading have been carefully chosen for each chapter. The text carries the earmarks of a thoughtful scholar who is personally well-acquainted with the complexities of trying to interpret contemporary Africa. I think Bob Stock succeeds admirably where no one else has for many years. This really will be a welcome text for courses on Africa! We've had a long drought." --Charles M. Good, Ph.D., Professor of Geography, Virginia Tech
"Robert Stock offers us a stimulating book on the geography of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Using a thematic and analytic approach, the author not only points to the various factors that have contributed to SSA's deepening crisis but he also points out the seeds of hope' that lie ahead in the region's vast potential. This is a well-balanced work that explains SSA's contemporary realities in a synthesis of historical, cultural, social political, and economic perspectives on the region. The book should make an excellent text at the undergraduate level and a must background reading to academics, politicians and development administrators. The author has made an excellent use of vignettes, maps, and figures providing readers with a rich set of materials illustrative of the thematic chapters. Robert Stock renders a perspective long overdue on SSA's geography." --Assefa Mehretu, Ph.D., Professor of Geography and African Studies, Michigan State University
Synopsis
Africa south of the Sahara is a region in transition. The optimism of the early
post-independence years has long since faded, replaced by a pervasive sense of crisis that typically includes slow and often negative economic growth, a crushing debt burden, hunger and ecological crisis, and the virtual collapse of the state in a number of countries. At the same time, the 1990s have seen recent cause for hope--most dramatically, in the peaceful transition to black majority rule in South Africa. This much-needed text provides a broad and balanced introduction to the geography of this vast region. Examining sociocultural, political, and economic processes, patterns of resource utilization, and the dynamics of change in Africa's geography, the text is enhanced by vivid case studies, maps, and photographs. Also featured are lists of recommended reading and a glossary of key terms.
About the Author
Robert Stock has had a long-standing interest in the geography of Africa that began with a four-year volunteer posting in Nigeria, his postgraduate education in African studies at Michigan State University and the University of Liverpool, and has continued with an ongoing program of research on the medical geography of Africa. Two previous books and numerous articles.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Africa in the 1990s
Overview
1. The Map of Africa
2. The Physical Environment
3. Culture and Society
Africa in Historical Perspective
4. The African Past
5. The Colonial Legacy
6. Independent Africa: The Struggle Continues
Dynamics of Population
7. Population Distribution
8. Population Growth
9. Population Mobility
Rural Economies
10. Indigenous Food-Production Systems
11. Agrarian Development and Change
12. The Food Crisis
Urban Economies and Societies
13. The Evolution of Urban Structure
14. Urban Economies
15. Housing Africa's Urban Population
Social Geography
16. African Women and Development
17. Education: Who Gets What Where?
18. Social Policy: The Health Sector
Resources
19. Mineral and Energy Resources
20. Fauna and Economic Development
21. Vegetation as a Resource
African Economies
22. Africa in the World Economy
23. Ideology and Economic Development
24. Development from Within: Local Self-Reliance in Development
Political Geography: Regional Case Studies
25. Nigeria: The Politics of Accommodating Diversity
26. South Africa: Apartheid and Beyond
27. The Politics and Economics of Surviving in South Africa's Shadow
Conclusion: Which Future?