Choice reviews Between the Sea and the Lagoon

Choice

Akyeampong looks in great detail at the Anlo people of coastal Ghana and their fortunes and misfortunes from about 1850 (the start of the colonial period in Ghana) until recent times. A Ghanaian himself, he had full access to British colonial records, German missionary papers, ethnographies, technical reports, and local archival materials relating to the dams, levees, reservoirs and other “development” projects that have modified the course and flow of the great Volta River and greatly affected the lives of the Anlo people. Since the 19th century, the Anlo have exploited the mangrove swamps, adjacent lagoons, and coastal waters of the Gulf of Guinea despite severe coastal erosion and flooding. Akyeampong describes the Anlo world as being “in a constant state of change,” noting that Anlo history “exhibits a mutualism between persons and environment, though this [does] necessarily idealize a ‘harmonious’ relationship between culture and nature.” Subsequent chapters describe the ups and downs of this relationship. Helpful maps, figures, and photographs are included, together with a finely meshed index and extensive bibliography. Upper–division undergraduates and above.

Choice