Book reviews

Writers and Criticism Gillian Stead Eilersen, Bessie Head — Thunder Behind Her Ears: Her Life and Writing (Heinemann, Portsmouth, NH, 1995), vii + 312 pp., £12,95 pbk, £35 hbk, ISBN 0–35–089846. Kate Darian‐Smith, Liz Gunner and Sarah Nuttall, Text, Theory, Space: Land, Literature and History in South Africa and Australia (Routledge, London, 1996) xiii + 263 pp., ISBN 0–415–12407–7; 0–415–12408–5 pbk. The Rural World Deborah Fahy Bryceson, Women Wielding the Hoe: Lessons from Rural Africa for Feminist Theory and Development Practice (Berg, Oxford, 1995), xi + 282 pp., £14.95 pbk, ISBN 1–85973–073–6. Pauline Peters, Dividing the Commons. Politics, Policy and Culture in Botswana (University Press of Virginia, 1995) 277 pp., US$50. Modes of Hegemony Ian Phimister, Wangi Kolia: Coal, Capital and Labour in Colonial Zimbabwe 1894–1954 (Baobab Books, Harare, and the University of Witwatersrand Press, Johannesburg, 1994: distributed by Africa Books Collective, Oxford), xiv + 194 pp., $21.50, £11.95, pbk, ISBN 0908311699. Transitions Steve and Moira Chimombo, The Culture of Democracy: Language, Literature, the Arts and Politics in Malawi 1992–1994 (WASt Publications: Box 317, Zomba, Malawi, 1996), 203 pp., ISBN 99909–48–00–9. Mervyn Bennun and Malyn D. Newitt (eds), Negotiating Justice: A New Constitution for South Africa (University of Exeter Press, 1995), viii + 200 pp., ISBN: 0859894592. Lusophone Africa Benjamin Núñez, Dictionary of Portuguese‐African Civilization (Hans Zell Publishers, London, Melbourne, Munich, New Jersey, 1995–1996), Vol. 1: From Discovery to Independence, xxvi + 532 pp., hbk, ISBN 1–873836–10–4; Vol. 2: From Ancient Kings to Presidents, xxiv + 478 pp., hbk, ISBN 1–873836–65–7. Karl Maier, Angola Promises and Lies (Serif, London, 1996), 224 pp., £12.99 pbk, ISBN 1897959–22–2.