A Fistful of Shells

Mr Green demonstrated rare scholarship in using numerous ‘native’ sources for this outstanding book. Those who are seeking a serious, nuanced book about West Africa’s global integration in the past, would do well to read this book. His careful treatment of ‘the slave trade’ from those who were victimized and profited from it serves as a rare bit of enlightenment. While his implicit and explicit critique of capitalism may unsettle some, he demonstrates it’s role in the rise of West Africa as a place of global connection.

It's been a while since a book significantly changed the way I think about either a region of the world or an entire epoch of world history, and this book did both. Aside from providing an extremely convincing and well-argued thesis about the causes of the economic divergence between West Africa and Europe that I won't try to summarize here, the author does a great job of re-centering West Africa in the last millennium of world history and exploding Hegel's (widely-subscribed) notion that "Africa has no history." You absolutely do not have to have an especially strong interest in the particulars of West African history to get a lot out of this book. An interest in any of the following will do:"What are the historic origins of African 'underdevelopment'? How did African states change during this era, and how were these changes connected to early globalization? What are the implications of one of the findings of this book: that broadly analogous historical processes took place simultaneously in Africa, Europe and the Americas at this time, especially during the age of revolution? On my reading, one conclusion is that these histories did not somehow evolve separately until the rise of colonialism in the nineteenth century, but rather always grew together."Economics aside, the book's initial focus on the centuries prior to and during the early stages of the growth of the Atlantic slave trade are actually surprisingly interesting and thought-provoking. For example: depictions of medieval Europe being influenced in a big way by changes in West Africa, vignettes of all the many ambassadors stationed at European courts (and Brazil) by African kingdoms starting in the 15th century, and the narration of Kongo as a significant diplomatic player in European affairs in the 17th century - among other things, really changed the way I think about pre-colonial Euro-African relations.One minor fault: in Part 2 of the book, while there's nothing wrong with the thematic focus/organization of the chapters (as opposed to geographic, as in Part 1), I did find that the narrative got a bit convoluted and lost among a deluge of rapidly changing people, places and times - sometimes all within a single page. Judging by the amount of notes and underlines I made, I was considerably less engaged with some sections of Part 2.In sum, if you're even a little interested in world history and issues of development, this book will nicely round out your understanding of the subject.

There was nothing i disliked about this book. The author offers a totally coherent economic explanation of the disastrous effect of the slave trade on the whole of west and central southern Africa. The first half of the book is particularly enlightening and one of the mnost coherent studies I have ever read. Hpowever, I will admit that I was familiar with some of the issues, because I had just finished "The Golden Rhinoceros" - a very different book in style, but one that shades into "A Fistful of Shells" as regards content. Most importantly, the first section of the book shows conclusively that many parts of Africa were modern economies that used money, simply not in the form that Europeans could recognise. The second part of the book is harder to follow, simply because the content is that much more familiar. We all know something about the slave trade in the eighteenth century, for that is when Britain (sort of) abolished it. Making sense of the economic mayhem caused by the dominance of the trade in captives has always been something I have yearned to read is one of the most pleasing aspects of the work. The second half in particular is not easy going, but persevere and you will emerge a wiser person

This is a rich and extremely well written book that leaves you reassessing what you thought you knew about West African History. It is very clear from the historical detail and analysis of interactions between African Kingdoms and the various European nations that Professor Green spared no effort researching this book which is evidenced by his extensive Bibliography. He does a wonderful job of explaining how economic and cultural factors intersected with each other and how that set the stage for one of most profound tragedies in human history. In a very objective and scholarly way, he explains how West African history was an integral part of the development of our current global economic and structures. One could read this book several times and learn something each time. Professor Green wrote a truly groundbreaking book that should be a required read in any international history course and must for any African Studies course.

A welcome and long overdue summary of pre-colonial history in West Africa. The addition of Toby Green's own captivating anecdotes from his in depth travels in the region bring levity and a degree of empathy to a potentially dry analysis of first-hand archive material. A must read for anyone with an interest in African history or for those Western historians that seem to ignore the complex and sophisticated civilisations that inhabited this area prior to slavery and Colonial capture. A wonderful compliment to his other very personal book about the current belief systems in the region -Meeting the Invisible Man: Secrets and Magic in West Africa.