This text gives biographical accounts of the leading plant collectors and their activities in Southern Africa from the days of the East India Company until modern times.

This book was originally published in 1966. This detailed study of the history of South West AFrica up to the date of Maharero's death in 1890 was originally published in German and appeared in an English version for the first time in 1938 when it was recognised as the first standard work on the subject. The author's extensive ethnological and linguistic studies made him especially well equipped to give a detailed account of the country and its people, and of the customs and languages of the different tribes. A considerable part of the book deals with the gradual colonization of the country by European pioneers whose various adventures are recorded in a mass of 'old notes, letters, reports and diaries'; and the historical side is supplemented by an ethological account of the native tribes. This is a scholarly work which, with its regard for folklore and tribal tradition as well as for the facts of history, must recommend itself to all lovers of South West Africa.

Across Africa, funerals and events remembering the dead have become larger and even more numerous over the years. Whereas in the West death is normally a private and family affair, in Africa funerals are often the central life cycle event, unparalleled in cost and importance, for which families harness vast amounts of resources to host lavish events for multitudes of people with ramifications well beyond the event. Though officials may try to regulate them, the popularity of these events often makes such efforts fruitless, and the elites themselves spend tremendously on funerals. This volume brings together scholars who have conducted research on funerary events across sub-Saharan Africa. The contributions offer an in-depth understanding of the broad changes and underlying causes in African societies over the years, such as changes in religious beliefs, social structure, urbanization, and technological changes and health.

This collection of essays documents the growth of African history as a discipline at the University of Basel since 2001. It thus pays tribute to fourteen years of research and teaching by Patrick Harries at the Department of History and the Centre for African Studies Basel. The Festschrift covers a broad range of topics from mine labour to missionary endeavour and the production of knowledge, reflecting some of his core research interests. The contributions engage with Patrick Harries oeuvre with reference to the authors own scholarship or vice-versa. Some directly address his publications while others take his teaching, correspondence, remarks or intellectual life more broadly as a point of reference. They all pay tribute to a brilliant and inspiring scholar, a great teacher and a kind person.

Prepared by the US Bureau of Mines with the purpose of providing the latest available data and information on mining and mineral resources in Namibia, this is a well-informed and useful reference work. The study covers regional geology, the history of exploitation, mining policies and legislation, production (including detailed tables on production and reserves 1970-1981) as well as water resources, energy supply, labour and transport. It argues that uranium has the greatest potential for long-term growth, and that elsewhere a pattern of diminishing ore reserves in the metals and to a lesser extent diamonds suggests a declining resource base. Shortages of water supplies, lack of artisans and skilled labour and "the unresolved international dispute"are identified as constraints to future growth in Namibia's mining industry. There is a chapter outlining the main features of mining legislation, and a lengthy, mainly technical bibliography listing close to 200 items. As a technical and economic surveyrelying heavily on information provided by the mining companies themselves, the study has considerable value. As a guide to the political economy of Namibia, it is, however, quite misleading. The UN Decree No. 1 of 1974 is not mentioned at all, while two decades of worker organization, liberation struggle and harsh colonial repression are dismissed in the assertion that "differences among worker languages and interests have inhibited the formation of a uniform political party or union". The study is notably weak on labour and social conditions, wages and labour legislation. For up-to-date information along the same lines, see Bureau of Mines Minerals Yearbook, vol. III: Area Reports: International, which contains a chapter on the mineral industry of Namibia. (Eriksen/Moorsom 1989).