What was the earliest "instance of cross-cultural interaction between Europeans and West Africans?" The production of ivories for European patrons in the 15th century. And yes, it was BEFORE the massive and EVIL slave trade.

Known as the Afro-Portuguese Ivories, these pieces went to Portugal, and were created for wealthy patrons who often sent models of items that they wanted to be reproduced in ivory to African artists. Examples included: coats of arms, salt cellars, hunting scenes, religious subjects, oliphants, weapons, forks & spoons, and pyxes.

This catalogue gives an in depth, scholarly examination of the major groups who produced these MAGNIFICENT pieces, the intermingling of styles and how they came about, the European perceptions of Black Africans in the Renaissance, and the similarities between the TWO groups (an eye opener!!). 203 MASTERPIECES grace the 255 pages, in both color and black & white photographs.

I cannot imagine anyone who is interested in African Art & History NOT wanting to find this GORGEOUS book, or better still, BEGGING Prestel Publishers ( who ALWAYS put out EXCELLENT African Art books) to reprint it. In fact, ANYONE who is interested in a FULLER picture of the Renaissance would find this book to be a great treasure!

This is an absolutely wonderful story. My 5 year old daughter wants to read it over and over again. It provides a positive father/child image. The illustrations are beautiful. The story talks about various countries in Africa and their particular specialty (i.e. basket weaving/kente cloth, etc.) The story is told in such a way that even young children can easily remember and associate the places and tribes in Africa with their trades. It also has a beautiful picture in the back of the continent of Africa that lends itself well for copying to use in discussions about geography.

My 5 year old received this book when she was 3 years old and we still enjoy reading it as do her friends at school.

This lyrically penned and exquisitely illustrated story is sure to delight children from ages 3 to 60. The story is well developed and extremely well written and the illustrations are absolutely breath-taking...this book is a true work of art. I have purchased it for all my nieces, nephews, and other children I know, as well as grandparents and parents alike. Knowing you will enjoy this I encourage you to look at Kin Eagle's nursery rhymes..."It's Raining, It's Pouring" and "Hey Diddle Diddle".

Covering all the essentials of who is what, where and what their background, the Who's Who of Southern Africa is a timely new addition to the all-too-small stock of books about the key personalities currently driving news and development (both in politics and in business) across the sub-region today. The book, unlike previous reference-type studies on African current affairs, eschews a straightforward so-and-so did this in such and such a year approach in favour of a look at the characters behind the names. Wittily written, insightful, sharp in judgement, and always keeping a weather eye out for what each person's next step might be, the book covers five key countries: Angola, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Sure to become an invaluable source of information for all doing business with the continent - or for those who are simply curious about Africa today.

Zaslavsky's "Africa Counts" will continue to be widely cherished for many years to come. Anyone haboring the old notion that Africans played no part in shaping world civlilization who is not changed by what appears in this book can only be someone with extraordinary racist tendencies. Zaslavky's book is effulgent because it demystifies mathematics without sacrificing details.

I am Head of Creative Arts at an International High School in Lesotho. Our Art Dept, copy of this book has been worn out with use by my students. This is not your usual book on African Art, no traditional masks and tribal headdress pictures here. This is how it really is, the art of the people for the people. A great reference work for anyone interested in the Art of Africa TODAY, as opposed to some romantic notion of Noble Savages. Get it!!

I purchased Africa in Washington a couple of weeks ago, after hesitating a bit. After all, there are a lot of books that claim to give you "information other books don't", etc., etc., etc. I was pleasantly surprised to see that this book did live up to its promises: I was working on a major project and needed to know who my best contacts were, and this book handed them to me on a silver platter. Accordingly, I highly recommend it to people working on African-related projects.

All six books in this series are gorgeous. They connect the geography, history, and culture of a region in a way that will interest kids and adults alike. Beautiful photos, drawings, and stunning maps. The introductory information to each project is interesting and helps kids understand why people might do certain types of art. The step-by-step project instructions are easy to follow, with drawings to accompany each step. Some projects are challenging; others easy to do with a large group, but they all are student-tested (with photos of their final products!). Best of all, they are authentic folk art projects-not the "let's make a toilet paper drum" variety. These projects work great for scout troop activities and home school projects as well as for public school teachers who want to connect art with history and geography. These books could be used with upper elementary through middle school students. Highly recommended for classroom use and as gifts for grandchildren!

I bought this book for my 10 year old son. He loves it. It's simple yet informative. It's also very colorful. He loves playing the game, too.

This book was exactly what I was looking for. This book took a really good thorough look at the other half of Nigerian novels. The side that is too often neglected: the Women. It went deep and discussed aspects of these novels that non-Nigerians and even Nigerian men are not likely to catch or know.