Historical Dictionary of Angola

by W. Martin James

Overview

Angola, slowly recovering from a twenty-seven year civil war, is becoming a regional super-power in southern Africa. This rise can be attributed to oil, diamonds, a battle-tested armed forces and a political system that is dominated by one party – the Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola – MPLA). Problems remain to be solved. The vast wealth is in the control of the elite while the vast majority of the people live on less than two dollars per day. Corruption is rife, the health and education system in shambles, landmines remain a festering problem and the opposition is intimidated and split into various factions. President Eduardo dos Santos, who has ruled Angola for almost thirty-eight years, has opted not to run for re-election in the August 2017 elections. Instead his hand-picked successor João Lourenço was elected president. Interestingly, dos Santos has not surrendered his presidency of the party.

This third edition of Historical Dictionary of Angola contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 700 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Angola.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538111239
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	03/01/2018
Series:	Historical Dictionaries of Africa
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	572
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

W. Martin James is a professor of Political Science at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. He has written several book and numerous articles about Angola. He served as an election monitor to the 1992 Angolan National elections and visited UNITA’s Tenth Party Congress in 2007.

Table of Contents

Editor’s Foreword (Jon Woronoff)
Preface
Reader’s Note
Map 1: Angola. Political
Map 2: Angola. Provincial
Map 3: Angola. Southern Africa Rail Network
Map 4: Angola. Minerals
Acronyms and Abbreviations
Chronology
Introduction
THE DICTIONARY
Appendices
I: Selected Name-Place Changes
II: Major Angolan Leaders since Independence.
III: Provincial Capitals and Population – 2014
IV: Angola’s National Public Holidays………
Bibliography
About the Author

Editorial Reviews

This second edition on Angola in the publisher’s Historical Dictionaries of Africa series brings to libraries current information on a country that has known colonization (by Portugal), revolution, independence, civil war, economic inequalities, corruption, and long one-man rule. The author, a political scientist at Henderson State University, in Arkansas, has written extensively on the country, including the first edition. He has also visited many times, serving as an electoral observer of the 1992 elections and attending a party congress in 2007. This edition follows the format of other titles in the series, beginning with a long list of acronyms and abbreviations, maps (from 2010), and a chronology from 1300 to August 2010. The introduction is quite helpful in orienting the user to the land and people, religion, early history, colonial era, and subsequent periods. More than 600 alphabetically arranged entries cover significant persons, ethnolinguistic groups, events, cultural and societal aspects, and political parties. Although most of the entries are brief, several on leaders and parties are more expansive. Information is current; for example, the 2010 Constitution has an entry. Cross-references in bold and see also references in capitals enhance use. An extensive, well-organized, and current bibliography (including websites), mainly in English, adds value. This work will provide large public and academic libraries with a one-stop resource on a lesser-known nation.

Booklist

W. Martin James’ second edition of the Historical Dictionary of Angola constitutes a welcomed update to a series that examines one of Africa’s most dynamic countries. ... Throughout the many editions of this volume, the Historical Dictionary of Angola has remained an invaluable and unparalleled resource for committed scholars, student researchers and even casual inquirers. ... This edition’s well-organized, alphabetically arranged entries are both broader and deeper than those appearing in previous versions. In addition to featuring key historical events, important places, and past and present political and military figures, the volume also contains a number of general headings, including Art, Children’s Issues, Religion and Tourism, to name just a few. The Historical Dictionary also features entries for a number of influential authors and journalists, which helps to diversify the overall range of entries.Within each entry, terms that can be found elsewhere in the volume appear in bold, while readers are also directed to any relevant entries that otherwise don’t appear in the description. These and other features render the volume highly navigable, even for first time users.

The International Journal Of African Studies

This new edition of the Historical Dictionary of Angola is highly recommended for academic and large public collections. It is also recommended for corporate business and government country study collections, especially if your company or group is doing business in Angola and other neighboring African countries.

American Reference Books Annual

This second edition on Angola in the publisher’s Historical Dictionaries of Africa series brings to libraries current information on a country that has known colonization (by Portugal), revolution, independence, civil war, economic inequalities, corruption, and long one-man rule. The author, a political scientist at Henderson State University, in Arkansas, has written extensively on the country, including the first edition. He has also visited many times, serving as an electoral observer of the 1992 elections and attending a party congress in 2007. This edition follows the format of other titles in the series, beginning with a long list of acronyms and abbreviations, maps (from 2010), and a chronology from 1300 to August 2010. The introduction is quite helpful in orienting the user to the land and people, religion, early history, colonial era, and subsequent periods. More than 600 alphabetically arranged entries cover significant persons, ethnolinguistic groups, events, cultural and societal aspects, and political parties. Although most of the entries are brief, several on leaders and parties are more expansive. Information is current; for example, the 2010 Constitution has an entry. Cross-references in bold and see also references in capitals enhance use. An extensive, well-organized, and current bibliography (including websites), mainly in English, adds value. This work will provide large public and academic libraries with a one-stop resource on a lesser-known nation.

Booklist