Guinea-Bissau is a small country in West Africa, and yet it managed to wrest its independence from Portugal back in 1973, at the cost of a long and bitter struggle against seemingly implacable odds. This was a time to be proud of, and there was also a moment about two decades ago, when it looked like a trendsetter for democracy. Since then things have gone seriously wrong, with a collapsing infrastructure, a dilapidated economy and a political stage prone to military coups d’etats. This fourth edition of Historical Dictionary of Guinea-Bissau tells the long and sometimes unpleasant story. However, like all the country historical dictionaries, it tells it several times and in several ways. First, the chronology traces the history of what became Guinea-Bissau, and this over a period of centuries and not just decades. Then the introduction recounts that history again, providing more insight and understanding, and conveys a good idea of how things are going now. The details follow in the dictionary section with entries on important persons, places, institutions, and events among other things. And the bibliography points to further reading.

A reference guide to the history of one of Africa's smallest, poorest countries, with alphabetically arranged entries discussing important events and individuals, a detailed introduction, a chronology, and a bibliography.

A reference on the west African country updated to encompass events and new scholarship during the eight years since the second edition. Considers the Guinean economy, foreign and domestic politics, Crioulo culture, the 1991 multi-party elections in Cape Verde that had a great influence on Guinea- Bissau, the social structure, arts and music, demography, health, ecology, and other aspects. A chronology, maps, and a battery of appendices are also included. Mendy is a Guinean scholar and Lobban one of the few Americans to have visited the country during the fight against Portuguese colonization. No index. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The Republic of the Sudan was long the largest country in Africa and, according to the general consensus, also one of the least successful in many ways. This was not entirely its fault since it lay along the fault line between Muslim and Christian Africa and between the Nile Valley civilizations and African Sudanic cultures. This partly explains the long and bloody warfare waged by the Southerners to achieve independence, which they did in July 2011. So this hefty book actually covers not one but two states. This fourth edition of the Historical Dictionary of the Sudan does so, first, through a lengthy and detailed chronology tracing its relatively few successes and numerous failures. The introductory essay does an admirable job of putting it all in perspective. But the most informative part is the dictionary, with now over 700 entries for this fourth edition. They deal with important personalities, politics, the economy, society, culture, religion and inevitably the civil war. There are also appendixes and an extensive bibliography.

A reference guide to the history of one of Africa's smallest, poorest countries, with alphabetically arranged entries discussing important events and individuals, a detailed introduction, a chronology, and a bibliography.