Reseña de Choise

In a sophisticated way, this book interrogates (throws into disarray?) many prevalent theoretical questions in the study of colonialism and postcolonialism. Although a well-noted expert in African history, Cooper (New York Univ.) exhibits here an admirable range of historical knowledge beyond his field: he cites examples in Western colonies in Africa and Latin America, the Ottomans in the Mediterranean, and Qing China in East Asia. This broad knowledge base enables him to discern awkward applications of such terms as "identity," "modernity," and "globalization" in historical study. He advocates the idea that "the world is interconnected and unequal" and advises that historians and others eschew the use of overarching concepts in their analysis of historical development. That is, the complexity of history requires one to adopt a historical approach, not to truncate and sacrifice the richness of history to fit within a theoretical framework. Cooper presents specific historical evidence to demonstrate that in the general transition from empires to nation-states, there have occurred many seemingly inconsistent undercurrents. The outcome of this development in today's world has also been far more complex than the term "globalization" connotes. A dense, provocative, and "rebellious" book! ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. Graduate students/faculty. Q. E. Wang Rowan University