The dynamics of violence in Central Africa /

Lemarchand (emer., Univ. of Florida) is one of the most knowledgeable scholars on the Great Lakes area of Central Africa. This book, part of the "National and Ethnic Conflict in the 21st Century" series, includes chapters on Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Though the first impression is of a monographic study, one quickly finds that the book is a reader of previous Lemarchand works only lightly introduced in an opening chapter. Only two chapters are identified as coming from earlier sources. Given the "picture of staggering complexity" of the subject, the hodgepodge of chapters are not melded, explained, or connected in a manner that allows any but studied experts in the field to follow. Some chapters, particularly those on ethnicity, memory, and genocide, are instructive on their own. There are important gaps; for example, the chapters on the DRC lament the anarchy of the state through 2002, only to describe in the final chapter the elections of 2006. Time lines are vague; what is "recent" varies from chapter to chapter. There are dense, detailed descriptions of all three nations' many trials and tribulations, but in a redundant, disingenuous format. Summing Up: Optional. Research and professional collections. R. M. Fulton Northwest Missouri State University