Frontiers of violence in north-east Africa : genealogies of conflict since c.1800 /

Reid (School of Oriental and African Studies, Univ. of London) presents a comprehensive analysis and stimulating conceptualization of the complex history of the Horn of Africa. In this text in the publisher's Zones of Violence series, the author's shrewd narrative of North-East Africa over the past two centuries argues cogently that "the various cultural, ethnic, and linguistic fault lines of the region--the zones of identity, as it were--are intertwined and overlapping." As a whole, "the region's troubled present is rooted in a troubled past." Nevertheless, Reid stresses (but certainly not exclusively) the multifaceted and violent marginal northern frontier of Tigray and Eritrea as a key border area in the enigmatic ethnic, political, and religious rivalries of past and present North-East Africa. An excellent resource for major libraries because of its comprehensive analysis of the historical and contemporary aspects of a significant strategic region of Africa. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. B. Harris Jr. emeritus, Occidental College