No other country interests him quite as much as Upper Volta, and this dictionary is a fruit of his research and affection. McFarland has lived and studied in West Africa, and returns there periodically. The dictionary's author, a man who loves the Volta River and is fascinated by the peoples living along it, ex¬ presses this hope in a book that is far from academic. Its slow progress does permit hope for the future. This sim¬ ple logic, so often forgotten in developing countries, is ap¬ parently being adhered to in present-day Upper Volta. A country less well endowed can survive, if it limits its ambitions to its means. Going beyond facts and figures, dates and statistics, it studies individuals and peoples and tries to understand their lot. That the situation is still far from hopeless is shown by this dictionary. And this human wealth, including one of Africa's oldest and most powerful empires, that of the Mossi, is the real promise of Upper Volta. Despite long periods abroad, in neighboring countries or even France, the people remain closely attached to their home¬ land and return. Nevertheless, the country's population is drawn to it. But the river's contribution so far has been mini¬ mal, even negative, since it spreads dreaded diseases such as river blindness, bilharzia and malaria. And, yet, the country takes its name from one of Africa's great rivers, the Volta, which divides into the Black, Red and White Volta that flow through the country. Aside from some wood¬ ed savannah in the south, most of it is arid plains melting into an ever further encroaching desert. Upper Volta is one of the poorest countries in the world, it is also one of the driest. The Departments of Upper Volta and Their Chief Places Important Towns Chief Products Ethnic Groups Historical dictionary of Upper Volta (Haute Volta). Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data McFarland, Daniel Miles. Historical Dictionary of UPPER VOLTA (Haute Volta) by 1974 The Congo (Brazzaville), by Virginia Thompson and Richard Adloff. REFERENCE BOOK Not to be taken from the LibraryĪFRICAN HISTORICAL DICTIONARIES Edited by Jon Woronoff 1.
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