Africa in the Iron Age is a clearly written outline of one of the more neglected parts of history. It deals with the continent area by area (with Egypt getting its fair share and no more) and period by period. The detail is limited by the space available, but the authors (one a historian and the other an archaeologist) manage to convey a good idea of the diversity of cultural and political institutions. They also provide figures and lots of maps — unlike with many works of history, with this book every time a place name is mentioned and you want a map it's on the next page!

Note: this book is now rather dated. As a more up to date volume I recommend Connah's African Civilizations.

August 1992

External links:

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Related reviews:

- books about Africa + African history
- more ancient history
- more archaeology
- books published by Cambridge University Press