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Alan Barnard, Hunters and Herders of Southern Africa: a comparative ethnography of the Khoisan peoples . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992, 374 pp., £40.00, ISBN 0 521 41188 2 hardback, £13.95 ISBN 0 521 42865 3 paperback.

Sudan and Ethiopia. Each site was linked with an on-going development project, and, as a control, some interviews were also held in non-project areas. A range of tribal, economic and social groups were chosen, including five main categories of interviewees: refugees, pastoralists and agro-pastoralists, farmers in rain-fed areas, farmers in irrigated areas and fishermen. Interviewers were provided with a common interview outline to guide their discussions, but they were free to use their own discretion in excluding sensitive questions and inserting others which they felt were more appropriate. Following an introduction to the project's methodology, the rest of the book consists of a country-by-country presentation of the results of the interviews. Each country is introduced, with a map and a country profile listing some basic development indicators. All eight countries share the dubious distinction of being close to the bottom end of the UNDP's Human Development Index. Each interview is reported in detail and subdivided according to the main topics covered during the discussion. The topics covered most frequently include: climate change, soil fertility, desertification, the use of trees, social customs, changes affecting women, urban drift, food aid and health care. Most of the interviewees were well over fifty years old, and the clarity and detail of their recollections are really quite impressive. The book concludes with a glossary of local terms and a particularly useful botanical glossary, giving names of species in English, Latin and various African languages. Finally, the index is arranged alphabetically according to subject, with references to the specific interviews in which the topics are raised. The language used in the book is non-technical and straightforward, and the content will appeal equally to the lay reader, the NGO supporter, the student and the academic. This book is a valuable addition to the vast literature now available on the Sahel. But unlike so many other contributions, which consider general patterns and processes, this one focuses on real people talking about their own experiences and perceptions. There are some who would perhaps criticise the book for being too subjective and too anecdotal. But with the increasing recognition that, in order to make a meaningful impact on rural living standards, development efforts must be firmly based on local understanding and aspirations, such a view would be short-sighted and naive. Development practitioners need more rather than less subjective evidence on which to base their pronouncements. Fortunately, the time is passing when development plans were formulated entirely on the basis of unreliable and incomplete quantitative evidence. First and foremost, 'development' and 'developers' must treat more seriously those being 'developed'!