The first of an intended series of historical dictionaries of women, Kathleen Sheldon's book on sub-Saharan Africa sets a high standard for the genre. With approximately 500 entries covering more than 45 nation-states, the work is simultaneously rich in detail, a first resource for any number of woman-related questions, and of necessity limited, given the vastness of possible subjects. Entries include biographical sketches of activists, women in the arts and goddesses; thematic subjects such as demography, prehistory and oral tradition; associations and organizations; and serial publications. A 13-page introduction provides a framework for understanding women's experience and its importance to broader questions of African history. In addition, the book includes a list of abbreviations, a map, an appendix of entry titles by country, a chronology and a bibliography.

Sheldon's great strength is her ability to write with a clarity that makes entries accessible to novices even as her extensive coverage allows them to be of value to specialists. She skilfully synthesizes topics like Christianity and colonialism while gracefully managing controversial items like feminism and female genital cutting. Entries are extensively cross-referenced, though this reader would have appreciated further-reading mentions beyond the occasional name of an author of a definitive work. Given the scope of possible entries, the coverage is understandably uneven. Southern Africa, eastern Africa and Nigeria are particularly strong; Francophone Central Africa is thin, but Lusophone Africa well represented.

An outstanding bibliography running to 106 pages rivals the entries themselves for usefulness. Sheldon provides a brief essay on the academic development of African women's history, then orders bibliography entries under nearly three dozen general, chronological and special topic headings.

The book has some weaknesses. Religion-related entries do not fully explore the importance of women to religious practices on the continent. The chronology, which runs from the tenth century BC to 2004, does little more than remind the reader that women's history, over such a vast area and variety of experience, can scarcely be considered a unity. The many entries for serials might have been listed more usefully as an appendix. Nevertheless, this Dictionary is an extraordinary resource that should be in every library and on the bookshelves of serious Africanist historians.