Vansinas scope is breathtaking he reconstructs the history of the forest lands that cover all or part of southern Cameroon Gabon Equatorial Guinea the Congo Zaire the Central African Republic and Cabinda in Angola discussing the original settlement of the forest by the western Bantu the periods of expansion and innovation in agriculture the development of metallurgy the rise and fall of political forms and of power the coming of Atlantic trade and colonialism and the conquest of the rainforests by colonial powers and the destruction of a way of life. In 400 elegantly brilliant pages Vansina lays out five millennia of history for nearly 200 distinguishable regions of the forest of equatorial Africa around a new subtly paradoxical interpretation of tradition. Joseph Miller University of Virginia Vansina gives extended coverageampampnbsp .ampampnbsp .ampampnbsp .