New Books in the Library 2018: Week of March 19

Subtitle: "A Study of the Beliefs and Practices of Akan, Ewe, Yoruba, Ibo, and Kindred Peoples"

Through a detailed and holistic regional study of West Africa's ethnic groups, cultures, languages, religions, music, dance, art, crafts, and architecture, "West Africa" provides students with a comprehensive, authoritative, and up-to-date review of this region.

This book discusses the vital role salt and other natural resources played in the development of the empires, the rich and diverse cultures, and the influence of the growing Islamic Empire on every day life.

Sacred Rice explores the cultural intricacies through which Jola farmers in West Africa are responding to their environmental and economic conditions given the centrality of a crop - rice - that is the lynchpin for their economic, social, religious, and political worlds. Based on more than ten years of author Joanna Davidson's ethnographic and historical research on rural Guinea-Bissau...

This personal account by a biocultural anthropologist illuminates not-soon-forgotten messages involving the sobering aspects of fieldwork among malnourished children in West Africa. With nutritional anthropology at its core, Dancing Skeletons presents informal, engaging, and oftentimes dramatic stories that relate the author's experiences conducting research on infant feeding and health in Mali.

This book embodies the results of thirteen years of research in drought-prone rural areas in the semi-arid zone of northern Nigeria. It describes the patterns of adaptive behaviour observed among Hausa, Ful'be and Manga communities in response to recurrent drought in the 1970s and 1980s. The question of desertification is explored...

In this groundbreaking book, Sandra E. Greene explores the lives of three prominent West African slave owners during the age of abolition. These first-published biographies reveal personal and political accomplishments and concerns, economic interests, religious beliefs, and responses to colonial rule in an attempt to understand why the subjects reacted to the demise of slavery as they did.

Djoliba Crossing is a celebration of Mande culture, and an exploration of the diverse and rich musical traditions that exist in the Niger River valley in Guinea, West Africa. Artist, musician, and author Dave Kobrenski takes the reader on a musical and visual journey up the Djoliba river in Guinea to explore ancient music traditions...

In 1947 the workers on the Dakar-Niger Railway came out on strike. Throughout this novel, written from the workers' perspective, the community social tensions emerge, and increase as the strike lengthens. The author's other novels include Xala and Black Docker.

Caldecott Medal winner. In this astonishingly beautiful and imaginatively illustrated picture book, Mosquito tells Iguana a tall tale that sets off a chain reaction that ends in jungle disaster.

Anansi the Spider is one of the great folk heroes of the world. He is a rogue, a mischief maker, and a wise, lovable creature who triumphs over larger foes. In this traditional Ashanti tale, Anansi sets out on a long, difficult journey. Threatened by Fish and Falcon, he is saved from terrible fates by his sons. But which of his sons should Anansi reward?...

Zomo the rabbit, a trickster from West Africa, wants wisdom. But he must accomplish three apparently impossible tasks before Sky God will give him what he wants. Is he clever enough to do as Sky God asks? The tale moves along with the swift concision of a good joke, right down to its satisfying punch line.

A cumulative rhyme relating how Ki-pat brought rain to the drought-stricken Kapiti Plain. Verna Aardema has brought the original story closer to the English nursery rhyme by putting in a cumulative refrain and giving the tale the rhythm of "The House That Jack Built."

A Caldecott Honor book, this memorable retelling of Cinderella is perfect for introducing children to the fairy tale as well as the history, culture, and geography of the African nation of Zimbabwe. Inspired by a traditional African folktale, this is the story of Mufaro, who is proud of his two beautiful daughters.

The bestselling, complete collection of more than 600 Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs, from the first awards in 1942 through the 2015 honors. Organized by year, the photographs in this stunning and emotional work create a poignant visual chronicle of our times.

No matter how talented you are as a designer, if you are going to run a successful fashion label you need to know about business from marketing and PR to manufacturing your collection, and where to find the money to finance it all. This is a guide to running your own business, whether it is within the clothing, accessories or footwear sectors.

There are no observers in the food chain. Like it or not, we're in nature and nature is in us. So, what do we do about that? In this hybrid collection of poetry and short essays presented as a chronological narrative, Sara Backer explores the choices we make to embrace and reject the wild world. 2015 Turtle Island Poetry Award.

American military bases encircle the globe. More than two decades after the end of the Cold War and nearly three-quarters of a century after the last battles of World War II, the United States still stations troops at some eight hundred locations in foreign lands. These bases are usually taken for granted or overlooked entirely, a little-noticed part of the Pentagon's vast operations...The author shows why we must reexamine the tenets of our military strategy, the way we engage with the world, and the base nation that America has become.