Mathurin C. Houngnikpo is the academic chair of Civil-Military
Relations at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, National
Defense University, Washington, D.C.
Samuel Decalo is professor of political science at the University
of Natal, Durban. He has published numerous books and articles on
Africa and the Middle East, including three other dictionaries in
this series (Benin, Togo, and Niger).
This title is highly recommended for academic and large public
libraries country studies collections. It provides a one-volume
reference book on this seldom-studied African nation.
*American Reference Books Annual*
The fourth edition reflects the addition of coauthor Houngnikpo
(National Defense Univ.) to a dictionary (3rd ed., 1995; 2nd ed.,
CH, Sep'88, 26-0017) previously written by Decalo (Univ. of Natal,
Durban). This new edition evidences significant editorial changes,
including new entries, along with the expansion of some entries and
the omission of others. The foreword indicates that this fourth
edition is the work of Houngnikpo, but that it "rests on the first
three editions." It appears that the coauthors differ in their
views of which people, places, and events are worthy of entries.
For this reason, libraries that purchase the fourth edition might
consider retaining at least the third edition as opposed to viewing
this new edition as a replacement. This work is important from many
standpoints, but being an English reference work on a Francophone
country is probably its most outstanding characteristic. Former
French colonies can be elusive to the English reader, and this
volume supplies fine details about Benin. The extensive
bibliography is also beneficial, even though a large portion is
devoted to French works. Summing Up: Recommended.
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