This reader sets a high standard on all counts, all the more remarkable for one that includes articles published only in a single journal, African Affairs. The journal's two current and one former editor (Cheeseman) teamed up to select this reader's contents. Perhaps more importantly, they wrote more than 80 pages of valuable introductions to the volume and its four main sections: 'The African State'; 'The Political Economy of Development'; 'Elections, Democracy, and Representation'; and 'Africa and the World.' The editors' judicious selections highlight the changing concerns, conceptions, and perspectives that continue to animate Africanist scholarship. Readers of many stripes, whether upper-level students, scholars, or non-Africanists seeking a compact overview of recent works on contemporary African affairs, will be well rewarded for perusing this book. The editors' introductions alone are worth their attention. J. P. Smaldone, Georgetown University sakriti opis