Famine in Africa

School Library Journal

Gr 6-8 Timberlake argues that government policy may be as much to blame for the African famine as is the lack of rain. The text is on target, as it describes natural (poor soil, drought, erosion) and political (cash vs. food crops, herders vs. farmers) causes of hunger. The color diagrams and photos emphasize the horror. Photos of the land are accompanied by drawings which depict natural and economic cycles. Hardest to look at are the faces, of course, and the political map of Africa which is punctuated by skulls over the most critically affected countries. Rhoda Blumberg's Famine (Watts, 1978; o.p.) is outdated. Symme J. Benoff, Free Library of Philadelphia