Widows in African societies : choices and constraints /

The editor of Widows in African Societies is to be congratulated for having defined an interesting and neglected problem of anthropology and African studies. Most of the ten essays are authored by women. There are also selections by Salamone and Muller, indicating that widowhood is not only women's concern. East and West African societies are well represented. There are a few pieces that focus on widows in towns or urban communities. As to be expected, the quality as well as the quantity of ethnographic data varies, but all contributors manage to stay close to the announced topic. Although some contributors (Oboler, Obbo, Schildkrout, Guyer, and Etienne) are already well known, the contributions of others (Potash, Landberg, and Vallenga) begin to add to the ethnographic record. The essays are preceded by a substantial introduction, which contains a few straw ``men.'' Otherwise, Potash's preliminary remarks are reasoned, suggestive, and informative. Likely to become a standard reference work, this book belongs in every serious social science and African studies collection.-W. Arens, SUNY at Stony Brook