Geography of Sub-Saharan Africa, The

Rating:
Summary: One of the most comprehensive texts on Sub-Saharan Africa.
Review: This is one of the most comprehensive books written onSub-Saharan Africa. It starts off with the spatial location of theregion and the physical aspects - Climate, Vegetation, Soils, and Drainage, that makes the region unique. The authors go on to discussing the human-environmental impacts, one of the most problematic of environmental activities in Sub-Saharan Africa. They discuss reasons for deforestation in Africa South of the Sahara, effects of forest degradation, and desertification a very real problem of desert encroachment that has turned productive lands in Sub-Saharan Africa into desert environments. One of the topics covered in this text that is absent in many textbooks is the Historical Background of Sub-Saharan Africa, especially when most of the old historical records are said to be "non-existent" because of the lack of a written language in the region. The authors have done a good job incorporating culture, conflict of culture and change in the face of cultural multiplicity of that exists in this region. Another important aspect of this book is the comprehensive coverage of gender and the roles of men and women in this part of the world. This book is interesting to read, it is informative and best of all, it is current.