GOOD – Review of the book East Africa and the Indian Ocean, by E.A. Alpers.
Edward A. Alpers’ collected volume serves two purposes. First, it examines the significance of the Indian Ocean for eastern Africa. Second, it acts as a survey of the historian’s four decade career.
ABSTRACT: Edward A. Alpers’ collected volume serves two purposes. First, it examines the significance of the Indian Ocean for eastern Africa. Second, it acts as a survey of the historian’s four decade career. While the material presented here is all previously published, its compilation into a single collection serves both of these purposes well. Alpers discussion of history is one grounded in place, literally and figuratively. Much like a geographic study, Alpers is consistently concerned with the uniqueness and contexts of the places about which he writes. More figuratively, his attempts to place East African history in a larger Indian Ocean history serve to reveal important patterns of influence that have shaped this region.