Africa: A Guide to Reference Material (review)

John McIlwaine, Professor Emeritus of the Bibliography of Asia and Africa at the University College London and renowned author of several authoritative works, has substantially expanded and revised his monumental 1993 work of the same title. It is a remarkably rich compilation, selected from a wide range of resources, meticulously researched for the most part, and largely annotated with descriptive information and references to published reviews and related works.

Covering 1938 through early 2006, this second edition includes new works published since 1992, the cut-off date of the first edition, and previously omitted pre-1992 titles have been added. For pre-1938 titles the first edition remains essential, as well as for its unique 31-page appendix, “Annual Reports on the British Possessions in Africa,” compiled by I. C. McIlwaine.

Despite excluding pre-1938 titles, the current edition lists 3,600 numbered entries—more than twice the original—in a variety of print and electronic formats. Two new subject categories, earth and biological sciences, augment the selection of handbooks, subject dictionaries, yearbooks, statistical sources, directories of organizations, biographical sources, atlases, and gazetteers. Titles are mostly in English, McIlwaine’s stated preference in cases of language duplication. Many titles, however, are in other European languages and some are in Arabic. Regrettably missing are works in major African languages and creoles, of which no comment is provided except for language dictionaries.

The geographic coverage is Africa south of the Sahara including the disputed territory of Western Sahara and the Indian and Atlantic Ocean islands around the continental mass. As in the first edition, McIlwaine excludes the North African countries of Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia, citing scholarly tradition that often groups them with the Middle East. However, this approach contradicts much of current scholarship, which views the entire African continent as a continuum, albeit with regional differences. African studies journals such as Research in African Literaturesand Journal of African Economiesinclude North African content, and the African Literature Association, for instance, is concerned with authors and literary traditions continent-wide. In this regard, McIlwaine’s geographic definition of Africa as a subject of academic inquiry may be somewhat outdated.

Bibliographical works other than those focusing on reference material are excluded because, as McIlwaine demonstrates in the detailed introduction, they are well covered in other existing works. Also excluded are African-language dictionaries, collections of legal documents, narrowly focused handbooks and guidebooks, and general works with a scope beyond Africa.

The basic organization of the content is geographical, with a general Africa section followed by regions subarranged by country. Material categories are applied consistently across sections, thus facilitating access to the information. Subsections under “Africa in General” include francophone Africa, former German Africa, etc., a continuing legacy of Africa’s colonial experience. Most welcome are the separate author-title and subject indexes that replace the single alphabetical index of the 1993 edition.

Overall, this volume is an exquisite contribution in support of scholarship on Africa. It fills a void in organized information and its positive impact should be enduring. It should be an essential part of most reference collections.