The Africa Review of Books (ISSN 0851-7592) is published twice yearly in English and in French. The editorial production of the Africa Review of Books ( is piloted by the Forum for Social Studies (FSS), based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with the active support of the Centre national de recherche en anthropologie sociale et culturelle (CRASC), based in Oran, Algeria.
The initiative for the publication of the Africa Review of Books (ISSN 0851–7592) dates back to about a decade and it emerged out of a shared concern in the African social research community that considered it expedient to create a forum for a critical presentation of books produced on Africa within and outside the continent.
Such a Review was deemed central to the goal of projecting interesting original works of art and science produced in Africa that might otherwise be lost on account of poor visibility. It was also hoped that a publication of that nature could serve both as an important barometer of trends in the study of Africa and a pace-setter for an all-round improvement in standards and quality. The birth of the Africa Review of Books therefore marks the triumph of the collective will of the African social research community and a milestone in CODESRIA’s publication programme.
It is hereby asserted that the Africa Review of Books (ARB) is not associated with, and is by no means related to any other product or project bearing the hallmark of “African Review of Books”.
