In a book that is largely non-academic in style, Effa Okupa provides quite possibly the most detailed existing account of the Kasikili/Sedudu Island conflict between Namibia and Botswana. The conflict is used as a case study to demonstrate the legacy of German and British colonial territorial negotiations, which resulted in the creation of the Caprivi Zipfel (Strip) through the 1890 Anglo-German Agreement.

The material Okupa has included is very diverse: the book certainly includes more information about the colonial occupation of Namibia than its sub-title first suggests. Discussion of Caprivi and Kasikili is relegated to the last four chapters (7–10), within which Okupa completely side-steps the important question of why the Treaty of Versailles did not return the Caprivi Strip to Barotseland (p. 248). Chapters 1–6 provide an account of pre-colonial Namibia; the events in Germany contextualising the colonisation of Namibia and the creation of the Caprivi Strip; and the impacts of German colonisation on mainland Namibia (focusing on the atrocities inflicted on the Herero and Nama ethnic groups).

Okupa offers an interesting analysis of the German Administration's approach to acquiring land in Namibia. In particular, she highlights (even if somewhat wordily) the different conceptualisations of ‘property’ between the colonisers and the colonised. She also provides an interesting account of how African customary law can be used to determine the ‘users’ of a piece of land in a legal dispute, such as the Kasikili-Sedudu Island dispute.

However, elements of Okupa's narrative (especially the first two chapters) are at times difficult to follow. Furthermore, the relevance of some of the material to the main theme of the book is not entirely clear. Okupa has a tendency to draw parallels with unexpected topics, which occasionally deviate from the main theme of the book (for example, her discussion of foot-binding in China and genital mutilation, p. 25). The conclusion to the book is also rather disappointing: ending with an account of proceedings at The Hague, the concluding chapter neither unifies nor reflects on the main themes of the book.

In addition to this, Okupa makes some sweeping generalisations, which can be summed up in her statement that: ‘young European historians argue that we should be quiet and forget the past, and not stir up the racial hatred about the brutal policies of German colonialism’ (p. x), which I would argue is unfounded. There are other instances where Okupa neither supports her assertions, nor names the source of evidence that is used to do so, which results in a few inaccuracies. For example, in Chapter 2, she claims that ethnic groups occupying pre-colonial Namibia did not eat game meat; in fact, they did and continue to do so.

In sum, despite Okupa's interesting inclusion and analysis of African customary law and drawing attention to a relatively unknown case study to demonstrate the continuing implications of colonisation for the present population of Africa, there are a few questions about the overall quality of the book. For example, this account ignores important events in Caprivi's recent history that are relevant to the main theme of the book: the impact of the colonisers' approach to dividing the region now known as Caprivi to best suit their needs. These events include the attempted secessionist movement of East Caprivi (foiled in the later stages of 1998), and the armed rebellion which followed on 2 August 1999.

The significance of ignoring these events is further demonstrated when Okupa attributes both the reduction of tourism in Caprivi and the vast out-migration of residents from the region during the period of the Kasikili-Sedudu Island dispute to a potential/impending war between Namibia and Botswana. In reality, these manifestations are more likely to have been the combined result of the Kasikili-Sedudu Island dispute, with the fallout from the attempted secession of East Caprivi, followed by the armed rebellion and UNITA's border activities in the region between 1999 and 2001.