A fair rundown of Cameroon, its basic history (what is known) and a sampling of the different ethnic groups, foods, practices. Not a bad introduction.
As with many books of this type, the photos aren't always organized that well, with pictures of important places and buildings sometimes pages away from that portion of the text which would most benefit from having the photo right there. Also some strange discrepencies in the text: Page 17 has a photo of the University of Yaoundé with a caption stating that it is "the only institution of higher learning in the country." Page 64 states that "There are over 30 teacher training colleges, five institutions of higher education, six universities, and a number of other specialized places of higher learning." Which is it?
I don't appreciate that of the religions, only Christianity is cast in a negative light ("oppressive") while the darker side of native religions (twin killing etc.) and Islam (forced conversions, slave traditions) is ignored. Instead the joy of worshiping the spirits in colorful festivals is emphasized.
There is one map of the country in the beginning of the book, on page 9, that shows a few of the rivers and parks and only one of the cities (Yaoundé). The book goes on to rattle off locations and cities in a "remember this for the test" fashion. Then, at the very end of the book (page 122), there is another map of Cameroon -- this one with cities marked! I wish they'd shown that at the beginning of the book; then the text would have made more sense. Scratch that, I wish they'd assumed that the reader really wanted to get to know Cameroon, not just hear a litany of facts from "someone who knows."
My recommendation: Get it from the library. There's got to be better books on Cameroon.
As with many books of this type, the photos aren't always organized that well, with pictures of important places and buildings sometimes pages away from that portion of the text which would most benefit from having the photo right there. Also some strange discrepencies in the text: Page 17 has a photo of the University of Yaoundé with a caption stating that it is "the only institution of higher learning in the country." Page 64 states that "There are over 30 teacher training colleges, five institutions of higher education, six universities, and a number of other specialized places of higher learning." Which is it?
I don't appreciate that of the religions, only Christianity is cast in a negative light ("oppressive") while the darker side of native religions (twin killing etc.) and Islam (forced conversions, slave traditions) is ignored. Instead the joy of worshiping the spirits in colorful festivals is emphasized.
There is one map of the country in the beginning of the book, on page 9, that shows a few of the rivers and parks and only one of the cities (Yaoundé). The book goes on to rattle off locations and cities in a "remember this for the test" fashion. Then, at the very end of the book (page 122), there is another map of Cameroon -- this one with cities marked! I wish they'd shown that at the beginning of the book; then the text would have made more sense. Scratch that, I wish they'd assumed that the reader really wanted to get to know Cameroon, not just hear a litany of facts from "someone who knows."
My recommendation: Get it from the library. There's got to be better books on Cameroon.
