Book excerpt: "This book is the first work to offer a comprehensive account of the economic history of the huge area conventionally known as West Africa, including the former French territories as well as those colonised by the British. Ranging from prehistoric times to independence, the book presents an argument, based on the concept of the market, that criticises many conventional beliefs about econmic backwardness and advances an alternative set of explanations which takes into account, and contributes to, the latest studies in the fields of history, economics, anthropology and geography". --Source : inconnue.