This collection of 19 essays adopts a variety of approaches to the social history of the Nso' people of the northwest region of Cameroon from precolonial times to the present and includes regional, area, and ethnic studies, as well as examinations of specific subjects. Topics include political relations among the peoples of the region prior to German colonization, the indigenous iron industry, cooperation as a social institution, Nso'-German relations at the beginning of colonization, the leadership structures of the Nso', women and agricultural production in the 20th century, and ideological conflict between the tribute and land tenure of the Nso' on the one hand and colonial tax policies and land ordinances of independent Cameroon on the other. Distributed in North America by the African Books Collective. Annotation 2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)