A dictionary containing over 1900 biographical notices of Sudanese and foreign persons who died before 1948.

A dictionary containing over 1900 biographical notices of Sudanese and foreign persons who died before 1948.

The Republic of the Sudan was long the largest country in Africa and, according to the general consensus, also one of the least successful in many ways. This was not entirely its fault since it lay along the fault line between Muslim and Christian Africa and between the Nile Valley civilizations and African Sudanic cultures. This partly explains the long and bloody warfare waged by the Southerners to achieve independence, which they did in July 2011. So this hefty book actually covers not one but two states. This fourth edition of the Historical Dictionary of the Sudan does so, first, through a lengthy and detailed chronology tracing its relatively few successes and numerous failures. The introductory essay does an admirable job of putting it all in perspective. But the most informative part is the dictionary, with now over 700 entries for this fourth edition. They deal with important personalities, politics, the economy, society, culture, religion and inevitably the civil war. There are also appendixes and an extensive bibliography.

This is the first volume of the Biographical Dictionary of South Sudan, an ongoing research project begun in July 2001. As the subtitle of the book, the Notable Firsts, suggests, this volume is primarily concerned with historically significant South Sudanese personalities, deceased and contemporary alike, and their illustrious careers. Luminaries from all walks of life are featured, including politics, traditional leadership, civil service, academia, and sports. This book has several main aims. Its primary aim is historical. It presents biographical profiles or accounts of the entrants and highlights the accomplishments and contributions of entrants in their respective fields of expertise or in the public sphere. But the aim of this study is not only to preset entrants biographies. It is mostly to place the entries in a broader historical perspective. The biographical dictionary, though concerned about personal accounts of entrants, it discusses pivotal events that shaped the history of South Sudan. The biographies are essentially linked to historical events that shaped or influenced the countrys trajectory throughout the period in question. Central to understanding the history of South Sudan is the biographical information of personalities who have taken part in major events or who have assumed important offices in the country.

Dictionary includes lists of government leaders and biographical sketches of important historical figures.

This important book sheds light on more than 1,400 brief life histories of mostly enslaved Black people, with the goal of recovering their individual lives. Harvey Amani Whitfield unearths the stories of men, women, and children who would not otherwise have found their way into written history. The individuals mentioned come from various points of origin, including Africa, the West Indies, the Carolinas, the Chesapeake, and the northern states, showcasing the remarkable range of the Black experience in the Atlantic world. Whitfield makes it clear that these enslaved Black people had likes, dislikes, distinct personality traits, and different levels of physical, spiritual, and intellectual talent. Biographical Dictionary of Enslaved Black People in the Maritimes affirms the notion that they were all unique individuals, despite the efforts of their owners and the wider Atlantic world to dehumanize and erase them.

The third edition focuses on the period following the rise of Islam in the Sudan in the 14th century (the earlier period will appear in a forthcoming volume on Ancient Nubia), with extensive coverage of political events since the civil war and establishment of Islamic Shari'a law in 1983 and the radical Islamic movements of the 1990s. In addition to the dictionary itself, a chronology, maps, and lengthy (44-page) introduction to the history of the Sudan are provided. Two of the authors teach anthropology at Rhode Island College, the third teaches African and Middle Eastern History at St. Norbert College. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.