Product Description
A Political History of The Gambia: 1816-1994 is the first complete account of the political history of the former British West African dependency to be written. It makes use of much hitherto unconsulted or unavailable British and Gambian official and private documentary sources, as well as interviews with many Gambian politicians and former British colonial officials. The first part of the book charts the origins and characteristics of modern politics in colonial Bathurst (Banjul) and its expansion into the Gambian interior (Protectorate) in the two decades after World War II. By independence in 1965, older urban-based parties in the capital had been defeated by a new, rural-based political organisation, the People's Progressive Party (PPP). The second part of the book analyzes the means by which the PPP, under President Sir Dawda Jawara, succeeded in defeating both existing and new rival political parties and an attempted coup in 1981. The book closes with an explanation of the demise of the PPP at the hands of an army coup in 1994. The book not only establishes those distinctive aspects of Gambian political history, but also relates these to the wider regional and African context, during the colonial and independence periods. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Traveler to Gambia
To write a good book on such a small country is quite a task. I have read this book twice in preparation to go to The Gambia for short-term stays (not as a tourist). I had a hard time focusing on some of the history of the area, such as dynasties and tribes. Some fo the other information like slavery, economy, and women are very eye-opening, dispelling many myths about Africa. Nothing is quite the same as experiencing the country first-hand, but this book may help to rid the initial culture-shock if you are going there. The book Roots (and the 1980s tv show) are based on this country. I suggest reading Wright's book first; it makes Roots that much more enjoyable.

Not just about Africa
This is the most important book I have ever read about Africa and the global economy.I read Mr. Wright's first edition and was in contact with him as he wrote his second.He used a unique archive of audiotapes of oral history, which is maintained in the Gambia.He also conducted personal research on his several trips to The Gambia.

When I was posted there, I visited the oral history project which has transferred thousands of oral histories from magnetic tape to CDs and which has transcribed and translated these oral histories.Donald Wright makes a very convincing case to counteract our bias for written records.He points out that the written records of the colonial powers were biased to make the colonial powers look good at the expense of the local populations.Using oral histories, especially in Africa, is a very valid and useful tool in historical research.What Donald Wright also shows was that African society and culture was well developed and self-sustaining.Africa was not the backward and helpless place we like to think it was.What distressed me most is that most African-Americans share the common preception that Africa was a backward coninent, when that is far from the truth.It is my wish that every American, especially every African-American read this book.

The nation of Numi (which is now part of The Gambia and Senegal) was proud and completely self sufficient, mostly through its own agriculture.Its trading relations served only to provide luxuries that people desired, but not what they required.With European expansion, Numi became dependent on European traders for staple food supplies while supplying peanuts to European buyers, with prices set in Europe -- i.e., the global model of trade we have now.The new European trading model differed greatly from the previously used Islamic/African/Asian trading model, with its ban on interest which left trading partners on a far more equal footing.Numi moved from being at the center of its own universe to becoming a forgotten place on the distant margins of a universe that has been constructed to serve the interests and wealth of Europe, North America, Japan and other big players.Donald Wright lays out the facts without emotion, but the reader cannot help but get emotional.Wright's description of the slave trade is a case in point.Wright does not go down the path to describe, in detail, the horrors of the slave trade.He outlines, rather, the need for regional African powers to have horses to dominate their neighbors.He went on to describe how horses could not be bred in tropical Africa, so they were traded for slaves at 15 slaves per horse.Wright's account of this terrible enterprise, which held human life so cheaply, struck me with greater force than other more detailed descriptions of the personal sufferings in this horrible trade in people.This is a must-read book.Donald Wright is a gifted writer who keeps your interest and pulls you from page to page.By the end of the book your ideas and view of the world will have changed.Mine did.

A fast read that I couldn't put down.
This book is really easy to read. Donald Wright is an good story teller. It brings history to life and sheds light on current events like off-shore job issues, foreign policy, international trade, nation building, military power, etc.

Wright starts by outlining basic theories about globalization. He makes a convincing argument for his case (converting this reader from the Basil Davidson mindset). Wright then shows how these theories played out in the history of Niumi, a small but powerful country on the west coast of Africa. Along the way he tells spellbinding tales about Niumi policitics, economy, religion, and culture. Wright did a great deal of research, and points out what is well documented versus anecdotal. My only wish is that the maps could be more helpful...maybe more detail, more color, more of them.

Good books to read along with this are Skeletons on the Sahara by Dean King, and Francis Bok's book about slavery in the Sudan.

Reading this book has given me 1) a better grasp of African history, 2) a greater awareness of the long history of globalization, and 3)a better ability to read the signs of our times and speculate where the current economic hub is rolling to (hint: its time to start learning Chinese). ... Read more

Product Description
The fourth edition of the Historical Dictionary of The Gambia¥through its chronology, introductory essay, appendixes, map, bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on important persons, places, events, institutions, and significant political, economic, social, and cultural aspects¥provides an important reference on this burgeoning African country. ... Read more

Product Description
This volume comprises a broad history of the Gambia, followed by extensive practical and statistical information. First published in 1906, it remains a source of historical data and interest. ... Read more

Product Description
This book is concerned primarily with political and economic events in Africa and The Gambia, especially between the 1994 coup d'etat and 2008. Significantly, it proffers policy recommendations to position this small but potentially rich country to leverage economic globalization to benefit the poor. Readily comprehensible to specialists and laypersons alike, this book is written by a scholar who has gained considerable respect, both in The Gambia and internationally, for his dispassionate analysis of events unfolding in his country of birth. ... Read more

Product Description
This work is a comprehensive look at The Gambia as a country and as a nation. Subjects covered include a general history of the country, its geography - regions and towns - and its people. It's also a profile of the country's demographic composition.The author looks at the different ethnic groups and their cultures and how they have been able to achieve unity in diversity in one of the most peaceful countries on the African continent.The work is also a study in regional integration with a focus on the Senegambia confederation. The author draws parallels between the short-lived Senegambia confederation and the union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar shedding some light on some of the problems African countries face in their quest for unity.The collapse of the Senegambia confederation is in sharp contrast with the unity The Gambia has achieved within as nation. One of Gambia's most outstanding features is ethnic and cultural integration in spite of the cultural and historical differences among the country's different ethnic groups.People going to The Gambia for the first time may find this work to be useful. It's not a tourist guide butan introductory work covering a wide range of subjects on Africa's smallest country. Members of the general public who want to learn about The Gambia will also find this work to be helpful.The author has also taken a scholarly approach on a number of subjects using well-documented sources in an analytical context and has provided useful insights into the complexities of the country across the spectrum, addressing a wide range of subjects including ethnicity, cultural fusion, and national integration.He also contends that understanding ethnicity as a phenomenon and as an analytical tool and a conceptual framework is critical to any study of African countries most of which are multi-ethnic societies; and that the spatial theory of ethnicity is not applicable in all contexts including Gambia where the opposite - of what the theory says - is true. The work may therefore be useful to students and scholars who are interested in The Gambia.But it should be seen as a general work on The Gambia in spite of the academic approach the author has taken in his analysis of anumber of subjects on this country which is also known as a gateway to West Africa. ... Read more

Product Description
Niumi is a small area at the mouth of the Gambia river in West Africa (now called the Gambia). This work looks at how it has been affected, over the last six or seven centuries, by phenomena such as European expansion, industrialization, colonialism, world wars and political independence. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Creative
I enjoyed this book very much.It does a fine job of relating local events to much larger international events.It shows that no matter where you live, you are part of what is happening in the world

Refreshing
Wright provides us with lovely insight into world historical themes.The global and chronological breadth of the work are well ballanced by his local specificity and insights.Innovative and accessible.

Niumi as seen through WST
Analyzes events that affected Niumi - now known as The Gambia, Africa - from the perspective of World System Theory.Concludes that increased economic interaction with industrialized, trade-seeking nations led to anirreversible peripheralization of Niumi relative to the "core"economies of Europe and America.This book is interesting and descriptive,but not ground-breaking. ... Read more

Product Description
An account of a white man's attempt to penetrate the mystery of Gambian womanhood. ... Read more

Product Description
This book is generalized around the topic of university student protests and political change. The dearth of scholarly work on issues that are related to education was one reason for this study. This scholarly analysis of the dynamics between university students and autocratic political and military governments is significant in that regard. Much of Sierra Leone's educational history has been forgotten because the pursuit of such studies was considered to be a luxury. ... Read more