In this holistic approach to the study of textiles and their makers, Colleen Kriger charts the role cotton has played in commercial, community, and labor settings in West Africa. By paying close attention to the details of how people made, exchanged, and wore cotton cloth from before industrialization in Europe to the twentieth century, she is able to demonstrate some of the cultural effects of Africa's long involvement in trading contacts with Muslim societies and with Europe. Cloth in West African History thus offers a fresh perspective on the history of the region and on the local, regional, and global processes that shaped it. A variety of readers will find its account and insights into the African past and culture valuable, and will appreciate the connections made between the local concerns of small-scale weavers in African villages, the emergence of an indigenous textile industry, and its integration into international networks.

"Recommended. All levels/libraries." - CHOICE

"This book will definitely satisy historians of technology; it offers a state-of-the-art view of what we know about the history of cloth in West Africa, always explained in outstanding technical detail... <Cloth in West African History sets a new very high standard for the study of textiles in Africa—or really for any part of the world...." - Technology and Culture

"By focusing on the appearance and production of three West African textiles, Kriger also clarifies connections between embellished cloth and politics, which vividly show how textiles articulate with general historical trends and events in the Niger basin area." - CHOICE

"This book will definitely satisy historians of technology; it offers a state-of-the-art view of what we know about the history of cloth in West Africa, always explained in outstanding technical detail... sets a new very high standard for the study of textiles in Africa—or really for any part of the world." - Technology and Culture

"...Kriger's technical analysis of textiles in West African history is rich; her chapters are replete with descriptions of looms and weaving techniques and how diverse materials, including locally produced as well as imported yarns, were valued by local artisans and consumers over time." - Museum Anthropology Review

"...Kriger has...succeeded...[in writing] a social, political, and economic history of the Nigerian culture area by employing sources seldom used by historians...it will be an influential example of how to attempt a regional history of textile production in Africa." - Africa

"...offers much grist for the scholarly mill. It will be useful to students and scholars in a wide range of fields, from archaeology, and history, to art history and anthropology as well as to textile specialists at large." - H-Afrarts

"Cloth in West African History is highly recommended for readers...who wish to educate themselves more deeply...who wish to bring material culture studies into their Africa survey, or more specialized, courses....Readable and consistently interesting, Kriger has managed to make a potentially dry subject into one that gives us a sense of the real richness of one sometmes overlooked form of African wealth." - International Journal of African Historical Studies, October 2008

"Kriger's meticulous attention to origin and to productive scheme helps the reader understand where things came from and how they became integrated into different societies." - Reviews in Anthropology