{"product_id":"the-peoples-of-the-middle-niger-the-island-of-gold-hardback-9780631173618","title":"The Peoples of the Middle Niger; The Island of Gold (Hardback) 9780631173618","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eThe Peoples of the Middle Niger\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eThe Island of Gold\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eRoderick James McIntosh (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780631173618, Wiley\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 23 August 1998\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e384 pages\u003cbr\u003e23.9 x 16.1 x 2.5 cm, 0.709 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\"McIntosh's contribution is an immensely scholarly and in some ways a subversive book. The great strength of McIntosh's book is in its implicit demand that we re-examine the comfortable old taxonomies.\" \u003ci\u003eHistory Today\u003c\/i\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"A splendid achievement ... this volume sets a new standard of thoroughness in the presentation of West African history.\" \u003ci\u003eBulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Peoples of  the Middle Niger\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis book provides the first comprehensive history of the peoples of the Middle Niger written by an English-speaking scholar. \u003ci\u003e‘The Island of Gold’\u003c\/i\u003e was the medieval Muslim and later European name for a fabled source of gold and other tropical riches. Although the floodplain of the Niger river lies far from the goldfields, the mosaic of peoples along the Middle Niger created a wealth of grain, fish, and livestock that supported some of Africa’s oldest cities, including Timbuktu. These ancient cities of the region that came to be known as Western Sudan were founded without outside stimulation and their inhabitants long resisted the coercive, centralized state that characterized the origins of earliest towns elsewhere. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn this book, Roderick James McIntosh uses the latest archaeological and anthropological research to provide a bold overview of the distant origins of life for the inhabitants of the Middle Niger, and an explanation for their social evolution. He shows, for instance, the difficulties the peoples faced in adapting to an unpredictable climate, and how their particular social organization determined the unusual nature of their responses to that change. Throughout the book oral traditions are integrated into the story, providing vivid insights into the inhabitants' complex culture and belief systems.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eList of Plates. \u003cp\u003eList of Figures.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eList of Maps.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePreface.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1. Riches Beyond Lucre, The Island of Gold.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2. The Dry Basins of the Middle Niger.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3. Historical Imagination: 4100 BP.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4. Peoples of the Four Live Basins.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5. Historical Imagination: 300 BC.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e6. Penetration of the Deep Basins.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e7. Historical Imagination: AD 400.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e8. Prosperity and Cities.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e9. Historical Imagination: AD 1000.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e10. The Imperial Tradition.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e11. Historical Imagination: AD 1472.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e12. Epilogue: Resilience of an Original Civil Society?.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBibliography.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eSubject Areas: History [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on History\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22History%20%5BHB%5D%22\"\u003eHB\u003c\/a\u003e]\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Wiley-Blackwell","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52316771615000,"sku":"9780631173618","price":71.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/2037\/5320\/files\/9780631173618.jpg?v=1781824360","url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/the-peoples-of-the-middle-niger-the-island-of-gold-hardback-9780631173618","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}