Author: Edward A. Alpers.

A specialist in the history of the region, Alpers (history, U. of California-Los Angeles) collects previously published essays focusing on the significance of the Indian Ocean for eastern Africa, and conversely the place of the long littoral, its hinterland, and its numerous islands in the history of the ocean. Most apparent are the trading networks, he says, but these precipitated broad cultural exchanges and movements of peoples that in turn forged permanent bonds. He begins with Gujarat as early as 1500, but mostly discusses the 19th century. His topics include the western Indian Ocean as a regional food network, continuity and change in the traditional cotton textile industry of southern Somalia 1840-1980, ritual and power in a 19th-century Swahili women's spirit possession cult, and Madagascar and Mozambique during the era of the Sakalava Raids 1800-20. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)