A fantastic book, for those who wish to learn Nigerian ...
938261
A fantastic book, for those who wish to learn Nigerian cooking and polish up! I would recommend it to everyone.
3166935
I am really impressed with this book, I absolutley love it. If you have learned the basics of Turkish, and want to move on to something a little more challanging, this book is it. I have learned soooo much, and I am only on lesson 10. This book is by far the BEST LEARNING TURKISH ITEM I have ever bought. And I have gone through, Rossetta Stone, Live Mocha (good program, better than Rossetta and alot cheaper) several books and CD's bought at Barnes and Noble that were almost completley useless, and several free turkish sites. I am going to buy more books from this author like the vocab trainer. I just cannot emphasize  enough how important this book is if you are really motivated to learn Turkish DO NOT PASS THIS BOOK/AUTHOR UP. I know Im rambeling on like a commercial but I am sooooo super excited over this book and you will be too, if you are like me and fed up with out-dated useless learning material.
740839
A Nigerian-American narrator returns to Nigeria for a one-month visit, and the reader gets a fascinating portrait of modern-day Nigeria. The book is composed of a series of vignettes: the narrator visits an internet cafe where Nigerian spam emailers are at work; he sees what happens when a child thief gets caught in a crowded market; he gets stopped by the police and has to pay a bribe; he visits book and records stores to gauge the arts scene. Each vignette gets a short chapter, and the book moves along briskly. In the end, it creates a fascinating, though short, portrait of the country.

The book is 176 pages, but with 27 chapter breaks, and as many photos, it is a quick read. I read it in a few hours. It left me wanting more, though maybe that's a sign of good writing.
218575
The Way of the Elders has all the elements of a great book: it tells good stories, imparts cultural information, and inspires personal improvement. It is a primer on West Africa showing how spirituality is interwoven with everyday life; the two are not spoken of separately the way they often are in the western world.

The voices are both personal and scholarly. Whether you want a thorough introduction to the lives, work, artistry, and storytelling of West Africans or you just want to enjoy a lovely read, this is an excellent choice.
3771201
What a fantastic book. I read it so fast I will have to read it again.  Although I didn't grow up in East Africa, I spent 10 great years in Kenya and, like Jimu, miss it very much. Having spent a lot of time in the bundu, much of it in or near small villages, this book vividly brought back many wonderful memories, not only of the austere beauty of the land, but the warm, welcoming nature of rural Africans.

The prose is personal and you can sense the heart and soul of Jimu and Africa in his words. I laughed myself silly and at times had sad tears in my eyes. His relationship with Umali reminds me of Francis, my house man in Nairobi and wonderful visits to his shamba in Githunguri. The natural ways of rural East Africa are truly depicted in this book.

And then there's the kiSwahili, which I often use to talk to myself out loud, and which brought back many memories of days spent with Kenyan co-workers speaking,  and learning this incredibly beautiful and exact language .

Thank you Jimu, for your memories and making me cherish mine even more.
829232
Mr. Traore is a former instructor of French for the World Bank, where I am currently employed. I was able to watch this book in development. It's a great tool for learning to communicate in French.

Of course, there are many books that teach French. This one should be of special interest to those who:
1. want an extremely affordable text
2. are adult learners wishing to speak practical French
3. are American Standard English speakers
4. will use French for diplomatic, NGO, development, or government work
889616
A tremendous book - I can't imagine a better means of learning to read Japanese, whether you aim to build vocabulary for speaking and listening purposes or you are a scholar looking to access written texts over your career. Conning's extraordinarily thoughtful approach clearly reflects careful examination of the learning process; a lot of value-added. I highly recommend reading the introduction in full before diving in.

Who this text is for: if you want to speak a few words of Japanese, enough to travel, you don't need this book. If you want to speak or read Japanese with even moderate fluency it is highly recommended, will save you a lot of time. I suspect that in a year you can learn more from this book in terms of vocabulary than any other method.
3848321
I will make this very brief, because I despise long pointless reviews that never tell you what you need to know. The bottom line is that this is a fantastic text. The surprising thing is that it is filled with gorgeous color photos. The book itself is huge. It's not one of those books you buy, and think..."that's it". You will not regret buying this book. The text focuses on the actual manuscripts in the ever growing collection of African manuscripts. But it also shows the life and country side of the region, in beautiful color.  It is a well researched, well written book...that is again, gorgeous. Lastly, it's rare to see a text on African history that is as beautiful as most books on western civilization. And it's not because there is anything less beautiful about African history, but few ever invest the resources to produce the polished work that western histories receive. This book is different. Just buy the book. It's 20 dollars that you will not regret spending. This is one of my best purchases, on African history, or any topic!
4677452
Noo Saro-Wiwa has a keen and observant eye and the book is very fun, engaging, and readable, A funny, personal look at the Nigerian national character.
107468
I love reading this book! It breaks things down and shows a thorough study of the African context. The book delivers.
4884600
I purchased this book on kindle about a year ago and it is still very valuable! As an African-American with knowledge of the large amount of Igbos brought to America during the trans-Atlantic slave trade I think every African-American, West Indian and Young Igbo person should have this book. Also Christians and Jews should read this book to learn about this "Lost" Tribe of Israel that has never been lost to G-D. By comparing indigenous Igbo culture with the Hebrew culture of the Bible we learn that the secrets whispered about the Igbos are true they are indeep a lost tribe of Israel. The author takes you step by step providing archaeological knowledge and historical quotes from authors, Israeli ambassadors, heads of state, etc. People have always questioned why Igbos are so successful, why are African-Americans so spiritual? This book will clear up the lies and show the truth about the largest Hebrew diaspora.
2496105
I am humbled to have met the man who relived a facet of life in A Country Called Nigeria I've heard much about, but only Mr. Siller delivered in a perspective easy to see and believe.

I tried taking notes, starting out with quite a few questions... the `unnecessary problems' being a premature start (question later answered), where before I knew it, I found myself focused on wanting to see just one `clean' business deal pulling through.  Hence, this pictorial is one of history stimulated by a powerful tool (first and secondhand accounts) illustrating Nigeria's abundance of natural resources & hopefully rectifying what happens when greed goes unchecked/not balanced, making for a tremendous experience imbibed by Siller's remarkable journey, woven through delightful storytelling!

Not quite 150 pages, but without question, every page held me captive wanting to learn and see more. (...the languages, the cuisines, visualizing the homes/the flats/the hotels, trying to understand the corruption in sight of the `jungle justice' still in practice, along with stretching my eyes apart to keep straight the SSI, MAMSER, IBB, SDP, NRC...).  There is MUCH here, though told in so few pages...

Overall, I really appreciated the concern taken to analyze and thus retell an experience in a `constructive' way as to bring out a straightforward picture of Nigerian cultures rewarding to read.

Too powerful to put down!
28657
This is  a  wonderful  book  to  read . Once  you  start reading  this book,  you  do  not want to  stop . I have  a Biafran (Ibo) friend
who has  described his  experience  as  a  child  during  the  Biafran  War. His experience parallels  the  writings in  this  book .
In high school ,  I  had  to  write  reports on  the  Biafran war based on  news reports, television  etc.  Reading  this book
provided me  with a more  personal synopsis of  how  an actual survivor  of  the Biafran War  lived  during  the  war . I recommend
this book  to any  history  reader .  I  gave  my  original copy  to  my  Biafran (Ibo)  friend  and  I  am going  to buy  myself  another
copy to  file with my  other "must read " history  books collection.  Excellent  Book !!!
3671451
If you already know a little about Arabic grammar (even the vaguest amount) this book is fantastic. I studied abroad for a summer, and although I lost the book on my last flight in (whoops), the vocabulary and cursory look at grammar (not strictly MSA, which makes the guidebook all the more useful, since it reflects reality) was more than enough to set me on the right foot.
4784869
Fantastic book, in my opinion. I think some people incorrectly view this book as a language reference book, but it isn't. It's far more a language learning book with great examples of Rebol programs, both simple and straightforward and sophisticated and powerful. BUT, in fact, I find it a very good language reference book, too, in spite of what other people have complained about. I have been programming Rebol for years now -- having fallen totally in love with the language, the IDE, and the language's semantics, but I cut my real Rebol teeth on this book. The included CD contains a plethora of great examples and source codes for the programs discussed. I taught a graduate-level Computer Science course using this book, I thought it was so good. The course was one on Internet Bots and Emotional Agents. The language was perfect for the course, and the book was a great support. I have the other major Rebol book (the one for Dummies!), but I assure you, this one is far better for learning to become a proficient, master Rebol programmer. Oh, and all you need is the free Rebol Core for this book.
702827
If you're an amateur linguist and interested in languages which are out of the mainstream (and we are, perhaps, a rare species), you could hardly do better than this.  It'll take me months and more to get through this grammar of the Basque/Euskara language, but as soon as I got it, I knew that I'd hit the jackpot.  It's a good hefty volume, 1300 pages or so, and contains so much information, including exhaustive examples ie illustrative texts with English translations, that I know I'll never have to get another book to know as much as I want to know about this fascinating language, preserved for so long by a courageous people, with a justified pride in their unique language and culture.  Highly recommended.
4443711
The advent of new scholarly publications is always a joy to discover; however, this first of Godwin Sadoh's two books featuring Nigerian/African organ composers is exceptionally fine.  The organist and composer Fela Sowande (1905-1987) is the subject of this study.
 Sowande's life was marked by the type of distinction that manifests itself only when accompanied by extraordinary achievement.  He was the first African to be appointed as a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists and was the first African to receive the British FRCO diploma (the highest award for organ-playing).  In addition to this honor, Sowande was the recipient of the Harding Prize for organ-playing, the Limpus Prize for Theory, and the Read Prize for the highest aggregate marks in the fellowship examinations.  Sowande received many honors during his lifetime.  One of the most notable was conferred in 1956, when Queen Elizabeth II made Sowande a Member of the British Empire for distinguished service in the cause of music.
 Sadoh's book focuses primarily on Sowande's work as an organ composer and the pervasive elements of culture (African, African-American, and European) contained in his works.  The author begins by providing an historical background for the milieu in which Nigerian musicians, such as Sowande, developed.  In order to do this, he discusses the political, social, and economic factors that were responsible for introducing western classical music to Nigeria.  The significant role of the mission schools and colonial institutions in the musical development of Nigerian musicians is clearly highlighted, for these two sources played a major role in the formal education of Nigerians.  It was the culmination of these forces that produced Sowande and other Nigerian musicians of the era.  In Sowande, a world view was forged that would accompany him during his lifelong musical pursuits.
 Sadoh makes a strong case for Sowande's intercultural stance (exhibiting compositional elements of the African, African-American, and European) and presents cogent arguments to support it via the organ compositions.  The work provides an insightful cultural analysis of the composer's organ works that includes a discussion concerning the presence and nature of Yoruba dance elements and African rhythms in Sowande's compositions.  Of particular interest to this reviewer is the presentation of material pertaining to Sowande's views regarding the African concept of musical communication and the role that it ultimately played in his choice of thematic material.
 Sadoh's research is well documented.  In addition to the presentation of significant biographical material, it provides a useful discography of Sowande recordings in the appendix.  Moreover, the publication contains numerous and diverse photographs of Sowande taken during various stages of his professional career.  Those of particular interest are those photographs of Sowande seated at the pipe organ and Hammond organ as well as photographs taken during his stage appearances as a noted jazz pianist.
 Published studies such as this, featuring the works and accomplishments of African and African-American organ composers are exceedingly scarce.  For this reason, it is all the more delightful to encounter well researched and documented works such as this.  I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Fela Sowande.

Review by Mickey Thomas Terry, Ph. D.
Editor, The African-American Organ Music Anthology