One of 50 dictionaries in Scarecrow’s Historical Dictionaries of Africa series, this volume was revised by Lesotho specialists Rosenberg, a historian, and Weisfelder, a political scientist. Following a succinct introduction to the African country of Lesotho (a landlocked country surrounded by South Africa), from prehistory to the 2012 elections, articles arranged A–Z address topics as diverse as Clothing, Migrant labor, and Wikileaks. This new edition includes more extensive articles on Lesotho following its 1966 independence as well as updated maps, a chronology, and a thematic bibliography.

Booklist

This thorough successor to the authors' 2004 work of the same title brings reference coverage of the Kingdom of Lesotho’s complex history up to contemporary times and fills a long-standing gap in Africana (see ARBA 2005, entry 88). At nearly twice the size of its predecessor, it reflects the social conditions of the region during the past decade, emphasizing detailed coverage of the Basotho responsible for many of the political and historical events, their internal cultural institutions and organizations, and less the prominent colonial era figures and institutions. Entries are clearly written, with detailed cross-references indicated in bold type. A lengthy bibliography of recent publications greatly expands awareness of what has actually been written about Lesotho, while the chronology eaches from the early nineteenth-century formation of the Basotho kingdom through 2012, and is accompanied by maps, a royal genealogy, and heads of government. This work is most useful for college and university libraries supporting degree programs in political science, history, and African studies.

American Reference Books Annual