Board of Trustees, Boston University

Afro-American Reference: An Annotated Bibliography of Selected Resources by NathanielDavisReview by: R. L. WatsonThe International Journal of African Historical Studies, Vol. 20, No. 1 (1987), pp. 151-152Published by: Boston University African Studies CenterStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/219311 .

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BOOK REVIEWS 151 BOOK REVIEWS 151

volume to students of theory because of the beautiful job done by the editors in developing a crisis theory.

The opinions expressed in this book should be taken very seriously by all in the U.S. government if America intends to cultivate long-term friendly relationships with African governments. The authors have adequately identified the weaknesses in U.S. foreign policy in African crises areas and have proceeded to make useful recommendations, it is now the responsibility of governmental officials to use this information in the most appropriate way possible.

PETER AGBOR-TABI International Relations Institute of Cameroon (IRIC)

AFRO-AMERICAN REFERENCE: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SELECTED RESOURCES. Compiled and edited by Nathaniel Davis. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1985. $37.50.

The initial question about a bibliography of "selected" sources concerns its principle of selection: is the principle clear, appropriate, and effectively applied? Nathaniel Davis's interest is primarily in reference works, his target "academic and public library users"; the bibliography is "not exhaustive" but "may serve as a point of departure for research on most aspects of Afro-American history and culture"; it is interdisciplinary; and most works cited are "specifically reference materials" though other works are included because "they contain useful bibliographies, indexes, important data, or state of the art information on topics inadequately covered by more standard reference tools" (pp. xi-xii). This latter factor introduces some unfortunate ambiguities to the project.

A bibliography of this sort can be very useful, and on the whole Davis executes his intentions well. The selection is diverse; in addition to standard categories from the social sciences and humanities, it includes items relating to, for example, mass media, health, the armed forces, sports, and psychology. The annotations are concise yet informative.

Inevitably, however, there are problems in selecting from so rich a field as Afro-American culture, particularly when the editor chooses not to limit himself to reference works alone but to consider other works as well. For example, although a number of non-reference works on slavery are included, such as Eugene Genovese's Roll, Jordan, Roll (1974) and David Brion Davis's two "problem of slavery" volumes, none appear on the aftermath of slavery or Reconstruction. Certainly Kenneth Stamp's The Era of Reconstruction (1965), John

Hope Franklin's Reconstruction after the Civil War (1961), and Leon Litwack's Been in the Storm So Long (1979), and various works by C. Vann Woodward (whose name is absent from this bibliography), contain enough important data and "state of the art" information to warrant citation. Stanley Elkins's Slavery (1959) does not appear; many of its conclusions are now questionable, but its first chapter is an exemplary bibliographical essay that should fall within the compiler's guidelines, as is the chapter, "The Two Arguments on Slavery," appended to the work's third edition.

volume to students of theory because of the beautiful job done by the editors in developing a crisis theory.

The opinions expressed in this book should be taken very seriously by all in the U.S. government if America intends to cultivate long-term friendly relationships with African governments. The authors have adequately identified the weaknesses in U.S. foreign policy in African crises areas and have proceeded to make useful recommendations, it is now the responsibility of governmental officials to use this information in the most appropriate way possible.

PETER AGBOR-TABI International Relations Institute of Cameroon (IRIC)

AFRO-AMERICAN REFERENCE: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SELECTED RESOURCES. Compiled and edited by Nathaniel Davis. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1985. $37.50.

The initial question about a bibliography of "selected" sources concerns its principle of selection: is the principle clear, appropriate, and effectively applied? Nathaniel Davis's interest is primarily in reference works, his target "academic and public library users"; the bibliography is "not exhaustive" but "may serve as a point of departure for research on most aspects of Afro-American history and culture"; it is interdisciplinary; and most works cited are "specifically reference materials" though other works are included because "they contain useful bibliographies, indexes, important data, or state of the art information on topics inadequately covered by more standard reference tools" (pp. xi-xii). This latter factor introduces some unfortunate ambiguities to the project.

A bibliography of this sort can be very useful, and on the whole Davis executes his intentions well. The selection is diverse; in addition to standard categories from the social sciences and humanities, it includes items relating to, for example, mass media, health, the armed forces, sports, and psychology. The annotations are concise yet informative.

Inevitably, however, there are problems in selecting from so rich a field as Afro-American culture, particularly when the editor chooses not to limit himself to reference works alone but to consider other works as well. For example, although a number of non-reference works on slavery are included, such as Eugene Genovese's Roll, Jordan, Roll (1974) and David Brion Davis's two "problem of slavery" volumes, none appear on the aftermath of slavery or Reconstruction. Certainly Kenneth Stamp's The Era of Reconstruction (1965), John

Hope Franklin's Reconstruction after the Civil War (1961), and Leon Litwack's Been in the Storm So Long (1979), and various works by C. Vann Woodward (whose name is absent from this bibliography), contain enough important data and "state of the art" information to warrant citation. Stanley Elkins's Slavery (1959) does not appear; many of its conclusions are now questionable, but its first chapter is an exemplary bibliographical essay that should fall within the compiler's guidelines, as is the chapter, "The Two Arguments on Slavery," appended to the work's third edition.

This content downloaded from 169.229.32.137 on Fri, 9 May 2014 00:30:47 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

152 BOOK REVIEWS 152 BOOK REVIEWS

Another occasional problem is that works purporting to be "state of the art" are cited, but works critical of them are not. Robert Fogel and Stanley Engerman's Time on the Cross (1974) is listed, but studies which virtually demolished it are not. Herbert Gutman's Slavery and the Numbers Game (1975), and Reckoning with Slavery (1976) by Peter David and others are two of a large number, though many appeared in periodical articles, a category which Davis ruled out of his compilation. Melville Herskovits's The Myth of the Negro Past (1941) is rightly included, but works which attacked its conclusions, such as E. Franklin Frazier's The Negro in the United States (2nd ed., 1957), are not. One is startled, in fact, by the utter absence of any work by Frazier, or any works besides Herskovits's that deal with the African diaspora. Joseph Miller's fine Slavery, A Teaching Bibliography (1983) is also missing. These absences suggest, perhaps, a need either to expand the categories of the present work, or to rule out non-bibliographical sources altogether.

Lacunae like these are inevitable when the project attempts so much. Those interested in Afro-American culture should not, however, ignore this work, for it provides many important leads for newcomers to the field. As always, users should not presume that a single bibliography covers any field completely.

R. L. WATSON North Carolina Wesleyan College

AMERICAN-SOUTH AFRICAN RELATIONS, 1784-1980: REVIEW AND SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY. By C. Tsehloane Keto. Ohio University Monographs in International Studies, Africa Series, No. 45. Athens, Ohio: 1985. Pp. x, 159. $11.00 paper.

Needless to say, a bibliography concerning relations between South Africa and the United States is timely. C. Tsehloane Keto and the Ohio University international studies program have rendered a genuine service by producing this volume. Those who need or want background to the ongoing debates over policy and sanctions toward South Africa could do much worse than starting here.

Keto's work has the advantage of going "all the way back" to the appearance of the first American ship in Table Bay in 1784, even if most entries deal with the last three decades, when of course American-South African relations have expanded exponentially. He has provided an introductory bibliographic essay by way of overview, followed by a bibliography in four basic divisions. First is a listing of general reference works and sources, with the valuable inclusion of addresses of relevant organizations, liberation movements and research collections/libraries. The second section is comprised of works on the broad topic of relations between America and Africa as a whole. Third is a

listing of references on American-South African relations arranged chronologically, in five time periods. One might quibble with Keto's

periodization, and his titling of the periods according to tropical Africa's political history; it is curious, for instance, to find one section headed "African Colonial Period, 1929-1948." But as he correctly notes, periodization is always "an arbitrary exercise" (p. 1). The fourth part is a re-listing of American-South African related

Another occasional problem is that works purporting to be "state of the art" are cited, but works critical of them are not. Robert Fogel and Stanley Engerman's Time on the Cross (1974) is listed, but studies which virtually demolished it are not. Herbert Gutman's Slavery and the Numbers Game (1975), and Reckoning with Slavery (1976) by Peter David and others are two of a large number, though many appeared in periodical articles, a category which Davis ruled out of his compilation. Melville Herskovits's The Myth of the Negro Past (1941) is rightly included, but works which attacked its conclusions, such as E. Franklin Frazier's The Negro in the United States (2nd ed., 1957), are not. One is startled, in fact, by the utter absence of any work by Frazier, or any works besides Herskovits's that deal with the African diaspora. Joseph Miller's fine Slavery, A Teaching Bibliography (1983) is also missing. These absences suggest, perhaps, a need either to expand the categories of the present work, or to rule out non-bibliographical sources altogether.

Lacunae like these are inevitable when the project attempts so much. Those interested in Afro-American culture should not, however, ignore this work, for it provides many important leads for newcomers to the field. As always, users should not presume that a single bibliography covers any field completely.

R. L. WATSON North Carolina Wesleyan College

AMERICAN-SOUTH AFRICAN RELATIONS, 1784-1980: REVIEW AND SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY. By C. Tsehloane Keto. Ohio University Monographs in International Studies, Africa Series, No. 45. Athens, Ohio: 1985. Pp. x, 159. $11.00 paper.

Needless to say, a bibliography concerning relations between South Africa and the United States is timely. C. Tsehloane Keto and the Ohio University international studies program have rendered a genuine service by producing this volume. Those who need or want background to the ongoing debates over policy and sanctions toward South Africa could do much worse than starting here.

Keto's work has the advantage of going "all the way back" to the appearance of the first American ship in Table Bay in 1784, even if most entries deal with the last three decades, when of course American-South African relations have expanded exponentially. He has provided an introductory bibliographic essay by way of overview, followed by a bibliography in four basic divisions. First is a listing of general reference works and sources, with the valuable inclusion of addresses of relevant organizations, liberation movements and research collections/libraries. The second section is comprised of works on the broad topic of relations between America and Africa as a whole. Third is a

listing of references on American-South African relations arranged chronologically, in five time periods. One might quibble with Keto's

periodization, and his titling of the periods according to tropical Africa's political history; it is curious, for instance, to find one section headed "African Colonial Period, 1929-1948." But as he correctly notes, periodization is always "an arbitrary exercise" (p. 1). The fourth part is a re-listing of American-South African related

This content downloaded from 169.229.32.137 on Fri, 9 May 2014 00:30:47 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions