Historical Dictionary of Burkina Faso
By (author) Lawrence Rupley, Lamissa Bangali, Boureima Diamitani
Publication date:
07 February 2013Length of book:
394 pagesPublisher
Scarecrow PressISBN-13: 9780810867703
Burkina Faso, known as Upper Volta until its independence from France in 1960, and locally called the “land of the upright people,” is a medium-sized land-locked country with no less than six neighbors, some of which periodically get into trouble… which makes it reasonably strategic in some ways. While it has not done as poorly as some other African states, its economic has certainly not prospered and many Burkinabe go abroad to earn a living. As for politics, it is another case of stability without democracy, even if there are periodic elections. Still, this is better than not even having stability.
This third edition of Historical Dictionary of Burkina Faso covers its history through a chronology, an introductory essay, maps, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 1000 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Burkina Faso.
This third edition of Historical Dictionary of Burkina Faso covers its history through a chronology, an introductory essay, maps, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 1000 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Burkina Faso.
This third edition sees the addition of two editors from Burkina Faso--Bangali (anthropology consultant/researcher) and Diamitani (West African Museums Program). As a result, the book benefits from more extensive use of material from archives, government agencies, and other sources of local information. This edition contains an updated and expanded chronology, introduction, bibliography, and appendix. The latter lists cities and towns, populations, ethnic groups, and the ministers of government administrations since 1978. The number of entries has expanded significantly, and some previously published entries have been edited as well. By and large, the 1,000-plus entries are well written and informative. As with other works from this series, this dictionary is useful because information on former French West African colonies can be difficult to find in English. From this standpoint, the dictionary and its counterparts on former French colonies are important sources for undergraduate libraries with basic Africana collections. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower- and upper-level undergraduates; general readers