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This book was published in the immediate aftermath of Jerry Rawlings' 1981 coup, and proclamation of the Ghana Revolution in January 1982. The author gives an account of the history of the socialist African revolution in Ghana from Nkrumah to Rawlings. He argued that Rawlings represented a continuity of the socialist African revolution, which drove Nkrumah and other revolutionary leaders to commit the resources and future of Ghana to overcome the imperial powers. He puts the case for the continuing need for a unified, self-reliant socialist state, and considers the high hopes for Rawlings' revolution and socialist ideology, with which he concurs, including his potential to inspire other African revolutions, provide the strong African leadership required for greater African economic independence, and an African presence in international relations. The book represents a historical view of Rawlings' role at a particular point in time. ... Read more

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Etude d'un secteur d'habitat a Koumbi Saleh, Mauretaine (1975-6 and 1980-1). (Bar S680, 1997) ... Read more

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Economic reform was the most pressing question for African and other Third World countries during the 1980s, and it will continue to dominate their public policy agendas during the coming decade. In this first full-length examination of the political economy of adjustment in Ghana, Jeffrey Herbst describes the causes of Ghana's dramatic economic decline and reviews the politics of reform that began in 1983.
Ghana was one of the first African countries to adopt a comprehensive reform program and the one that has sustained adjustment longest. As Africa confronts the possibility of total economic collapse by the turn of the century, the Ghanaian experience will have profound ramifications across the continent in the debates regarding stabilization and structural change.
Herbst devotes special attention to the interaction between the type of government and the politics of adjustment, the reaction of interest groups such as urban labor and the peasantry, and the relationship between economic and political change. His extended field research and sophisticated knowledge of the issues involved, both from the economic and political science literature, make this an extremely useful study. It will be important not only to Africanists, political scientists, economists, and sociologists, but also to government and financial leaders wrestling with economic reform in the Third World. ... Read more

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A study of a radical nationalist government's attempts to destroy chieftaincy in Ghana. It shows how chiefly resistance to their destruction forced the government to seek control over rural areas by redefining chieftaincy. It should provide a context for understanding Ghana's political topography. North America: Ohio U Press ... Read more

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The Politics of Divination, first published in 1982, was a ground breaking work in the political economy of an African culture, the Sisala of Northern Ghana. The author shows how elders use divination as a political tool to control the behavior of women and young men. Gerontocratic control through ritual means is an attempt by elders to dominate the economic activities of youthful men, adn the production and reproduction of women. Yet, the elders are not entirely successful in such attempts, and their efforts at social control sometimes have less than altruistic motives, as the many cases in the book show. The author presents divination and ancestral sacrifice in a processual view. Within the context of the divinatory process strategizing elders work and rework the rules of their society to deal with real life situations, illness, misfortune and death. Like many other Africans, the Sisala believe that such misfortunes are ultimatley caused by ancestral anger, which can be seen as a reflection of social tension and conflict among the living. Divination points out deviants in the family who are poised as the cause of such misfortunes, and this conflict is rectified through ancestral propitiation via blood sacrifice on family shrines. ... Read more

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In 1963, master twentieth-century photographer Paul Strand documented Ghana, the first sub-Saharan colony to become an independent country. On the fiftieth anniversary of Ghana's independence, six New Hampshire photographers journeyed to the West African country to document the changes that occurred over the decades. This full color book covers education, medicine, fishing, crafts, markets, and many portraits of everyday life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Prepare for your trip to Ghana
I got this book for my sister and her husband because they are spending a month in Ghana this summer doing humanitarian work. I read the opening essay and was quite moved by the author, a daughter of one of Ghana's former leaders. She gave me a sense of the people of her nation, and it was good. The photos gave me a sense of the place, and it was good. The photos are exquisite and book the merits worth for those images alone; coupled with the narrative, it is, I hope, a true and wise glimpse of what one might come to know of Ghana. When my sister and brother-in-law return, I will be anxious to compare their pictures and stories to the beautiful book.

Unique Photographic Presentation of Ghana
Having been to Africa, I can attest that this volume of photographs (the result of a collaboration between six photographers) accurately illustrates daily life. The introduction makes informative reading, and the historical time chart is useful. There are some great urban shots, as well as those of fishermen, a textile craftswoman and other artisans, market scenes, colorful signage, religious iconography and services, health clinics, wildlife, and even a coffeemaker. The color (of the more than 150 images) is excellent. This would be a great gift for someone with an interest in West Africa, and it will be cherished by those with connections to Ghana (or just by those who appreciate good photography).

not your typical coffee table book
This striking collection of photographs documenting contemporary Ghana reflects a strong sense of place. Starting with the brilliant emblematic cover portrait, the viewer is welcomed into the distinctive world of everyday Ghanaians whose lives are revealed in all their diversity from fishermen and artists to port workers and women in prayer.How often do you see pictures of a man making rope, a worker carving a pirogue with an adze, a woman transporting a tub of bread on her head while she talks on a cellphone, a casket in the shape of a fish, and the ethereal beauty of dried fishing nets? The bold colors of Ghana resonate in beads and batiks, and businesses engage you with snappy names like the "God is Good Cold Store" and "Hello Furniture Work."
Caveat: the compelling images in this book may transform you from an armchair traveler to an actual explorer of this picturesque west African country.

A Great Piece of Documentary Photography
It is rare that such a sensitive portrait of a nation can be achieved in the short period of time that these six talented photographers had to shoot but the word "talented" is what made it all possible.

Each sees the country from a different point of view and the synergy produced is simply awesome. I enjoyed turning each page for the surprise that ensued and I realized that Ghana was not just another African hellhole but a place that I would ike to learn more about and visit someday.

The warm personalities of the people just jump from the pages and I immediately suggested to the principal of the predominately African-American school where I substitute teach that it be acquired for the school library.

Don't miss this one.It's got great layout, a marvelous preface by the director of the project as to how it evolved, and a great introductory essay by a woman born in Ghana who is now a U.S. scholar who discusses in folksy terms the fascinating history of the country and also refers to individual images in the book. There's also a timeline that brings you up to speed on this fascinating country's history.

When I finshed the book, it went on a special shelf in my library reserved for A-Plus photo books so I can have quick access to page through them over and over again.

You'll love this book! ... Read more

Product Description
General Books publication date: 2009Original publication date: 1898Original Publisher: Negro Universities PressSubjects: GhanaTravel / Africa / GeneralHistory / Africa / GeneralHistory / Africa / WestTravel / Africa / GeneralTravel / Europe / GeneralNotes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free.Excerpt: 62CHAPTER III.The Seasons -- Climate -- The Harmattan -- Productions -- Vegetation -- Animal Life -- Exports -- Imports -- Habitations -- The Slave Trade -- Its Rise and Fall -- The Labour Question.Situated north of the Equatorial line between the parallels of 4 45' and 6 45' North, according to the early extent of the colony, the seasons are naturally divided into the wet and the dry periods. The former commences early in April and continues until late in August, and the latter lasts from this latter date until the succeeding April. Although this period is called the " dry" season, it must not be supposed that no rain falls. On the contrary, September, October and November are each interrupted by what are called the " smalls " or the second rains, but from the end of November to the following April fair weather prevails. As in other tropical countries, each change of season is marked by violent atmospheric disturbances in the shape of thunderstorms and tornadoes, those introducing the rainy season being by far the most violent of any that occur on the coast. The rains come, as a rule, from the east, but often veer round to the south, finally settling down to the south-west. It must not be imagined that rain falls uninterruptedly during the rainy season. After the first burst, bright days of sunshine intervene from time to time, but, owing to the extreme amount of moisture to be found everywhere, clouds o... ... Read more

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The current border between Ghana and Togo is usually regarded as a classically arbitrary European construct, resisted by Ewe irredentism. Paul Nugent challenges this conventional wisdom, contending that whatever the origins of partition, border peoples quickly became knowing and active participants in the shaping of this international boundary. This book straddles the conventional divide between social and political history. It offers a reconstruction of a long-range history of smuggling and a reappraisal of Ewe identity. It should be of interest to African historians, political scientists, anthropologists, comparative borderlands scholars and others concerned with issues of criminality, identity and the state. North America: Ohio U Press ... Read more

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This is a study of the changing rules and relationships within which natural, human and man-made resources were mobilized for production during the development of an agricultural export economy in Asante, a major West African kingdom which became, by 1945, the biggest regional contributor to Ghana's status as the world's largest cocoa producer. The period 1807-1956 as a whole was distinguished in Asante history by relatively favorable political conditions for indigenous as well as (during colonial rule) for foreign private enterprise. It saw generally increasing external demands for products that could be produced on Asante land.

This book, which fills a major gap in Asante economic history, transcends the traditional divide between studies of precolonial and of twentieth-century African history. It analyses the interaction of coercion and the market in the context of a rich but fragile natural environment, the central process being a transition from slavery and debt-bondage to hired labor and agricultural indebtedness. It contributes to the broad debate about Africa's historic combination of emerging 'capitalist' institutions and persistent 'precapitalist' ones, and tests the major theories of the political economy of institutional change. It is written accessibly for an inter-disciplinaryreadership. ... Read more

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In the late seventeenth century Wala emerged as a small state in what is now northwestern Ghana.Ivor Wilks traces the history of Wala from its beginnings to the present, paying particular attention to the complex relations between the Muslim and non-Muslim elements in the population.He also examines the impact of Zabrima, Samorian, British, and French intrusions into Wala affairs.By the use of orally transmitted traditions and recensions of these in both Arabic and Hausa, he is able to show how the Wala themselves view thier past. Ivor Wilks analyzes the periodic eruptions of communal violence in Wala in terms of both religious and secular factionalism. He suggests that the policy maker, concerned with the region's current political problems, should have a sound knowledge of the history of Wala and an understanding of the deeper structures of society. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A very accessible, though dated, introduction to Ghana
This a very accessible, though dated, introduction to Ghana written by a political scientist (now in the Israeli Knesset) and an anthropologist.The only real problem with the book is that the story ends in 1979, just as Flt Lt Jerry J Rawlings comes to power and initiates a significant reorientation of the Ghanaian economic and political system.It is a pity that Pellow and Chazan have not updated this book.Now of interest more as a history than a description of the contemporary scene. ... Read more

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One of the enduring characteristics of post-independenceAfrica has been the inability to fashion stable, meaningful politicaleconomies. Material progress has been slow and painful for mostpeople. Akwasi Osei's study, a reinterpretation of forty years ofGhana politics, shows that, ideological differences notwithstanding,the successive regimes have adopted remarkably consistentpolicies. They have been constrained by the nature of the Ghanaianstate. ... Read more

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As Ghana enters its second half-century there is a widespread perception of failure of the economic and political system in delivering improved living standards to the population. This failure comes despite a solid transition to democracy, despite a recorded recovery from the economic malaise of previous decades and despite a reduction on measured levels of poverty. The contributors in this book analyse the reasons for this failure and sets out an analytical agenda as the basis of the course that the nations' policy makers will have to steer if Ghana is to fulfil the promise of its independence in 1957. ... Read more