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187 Acknowledgments The origin of this book lies in the word “No”—Guinea’s “No” to the 1958 French constitution and my editor’s “No” to a 965-page manuscript. In the empire-wide referendum of September 1958, Guinea alone rejected the constitution and claimed immediate independence instead. Intrigued by Guinea’s unique stance and determined to track its origins, I resolved to write a social history of Guinea’s nationalist movement. My book would tell it all—gender and generation, ethnicity, race, and class. It would explore both local politics and the international context. It would be a total history. The result was a mammoth manuscript that left nothing out. Fortunately, my editor sent me back to the drawing board. Like the heartless mother in the Solomonic tale, I decided to divide my creation into two. The first book, Mobilizing the Masses: Gender, Ethnicity, and Class in the Nationalist Movement in Guinea, 1939–1958, was published in 2005. This volume explores the Guinean nationalist movement in the context of French politics and the Cold War. This book and its predecessor were years in the making. Many people and institutions helped it along the way. Before I embarked on this journey, I had trained and conducted research in anglophone Southern Africa, focusing on colonial Zimbabwe and apartheid South Africa. Thus, I relied on the wisdom and experience of others as I retrained for research in francophone West Africa. Siba N’Zatioula Grovogui introduced me to Guinea and assisted in the oral aspects of the project. Using his extensive connections, he helped to locate former activists who agreed to share their memories of the anticolonial struggle. He also collaborated on interviews conducted in French, interpreted those in Susu and Maninka, and transcribed and translated the African-language tapes. Sidiki Kobélé Kéïta shared his prodigious knowledge of nationalist history and rare copies of his published work. Kéïta, Fatou Aribot, and Hawa Fofana identified a number of key informants, while Hawa Fofana convinced many who You are reading copyrighted material published by Ohio University Press/Swallow Press. Unauthorized posting, copying, or distributing of this work except as permitted under U.S. copyright law is illegal and injures the author and publisher. 188 Acknowledgments were uncertain to speak with us. Ouessou “Körö” Nabé, a dedicated friend and supporter, introduced us to relatives with strong nationalist credentials and provided critical transport to interview sessions. Most important were the many informants who gave us their time and confidence and directed us to their colleagues in the nationalist struggle. Their names, too numerous to list here, are included in the bibliography. The oral interviews were supplemented with archival and library research. For their willing assistance, I thank the staffs of the Archives de Guinée in Conakry ; the Archives Nationales du Sénégal and the Institut Fondamental d’Afrique Noire in Dakar; and the Archives Nationales in France, including the Centre d’Accueil et de Recherche des Archives Nationales in Paris and the Centre des Archives d’Outre-Mer in Aix-en-Provence. At the Centre de Recherche et de Documentation Africaine in Paris, Vassiafa Touré went far beyond the call of duty. Besides invaluable professional help, he and his family graciously offered their friendship and welcomed us into their home. In the United States, Peggy Feild and the interlibrary loan staff of the Loyola Notre Dame Library faithfully responded to my numerous requests, obtaining even the most obscure publications in record time. A number of scholars have both inspired me with their work and assisted me in my own endeavors. Frederick Cooper provided important information about archives in Senegal and France, and brought the CRDA’s existence to my attention. Along with Steven Feierman, Allen Isaacman, and Susan Geiger, he wrote numerous funding letters on my behalf. Allen Isaacman, Jean Hay, Thaddeus Sunseri, and Joseph Miller critiqued earlier drafts of the manuscript, while Martin Klein and Nancy Lawler gave critical advice about the final version. Colleagues in the Loyola College History Department contributed insights through faculty colloquia, lectures, and works-in-progress seminars. Finally, at Ohio University Press, assistant director and senior editor Gillian Berchowitz and project editor John Morris persevered to make this book a reality. Working with them was truly a pleasure. This project would not have come to fruition without external financial support . In 1989, Louise Bedicheck, then public affairs officer at the U.S. Embassy in Conakry, encouraged me to apply for a Fulbright...

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