Book excerpt: A collection of 17 essays on the colonial era in Africa designed to demonstrate to demographers the importance of historical and social contexts in thinking about African populations, and to historians the importance and complex role played by population changes in social and economic changes. Two essays are in French. The 1987 edition sold out quickly and was rarely seen and little known; the wider distribution and lower price of the paper should prevent that fate overtaking the second. Paper edition (unseen), $17.95. No index. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR