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This is a superb book and an important contribution to the literature on African religion.
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~Nova Religio
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This book importantly demonstrates that a religious system oriented around female prophets emerged among the rice cultivators of Senegambia. Baum's claim that it is a uniquely West African tradition will hopefully inspire others to explore similar practices of messianic revelation along the Guinea Coast.
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~Journal of African History
"A masterful and meticulous study of religious history."
~African Studies Review
"The whole of West Africa's Women of God represents an exceptional and long-awaited monograph. The quality of Baum's research and writing alike solidify this book as a tour de force that sets an exceedingly high standard for scholars to follow."
~Religious Studies Review
"[T]his intelligibly constructed and well-structured book will be useful to scholars of African religions, cultural anthropologists, and theologians alike. The field of African religious studies would certainly diminish without its contributions."
~Reading Religion (JAAR)
"Baum (African and African American studies and religion, Dartmouth) focuses on the history of women prophets who came into prominence after WW I with the increasing oversight of French colonial officials. Highly recommended."
~Choice
"A masterful book that explores a little known part of Africa and makes it the showcase for transformative changes involving colonial agents, local subjects, religious narratives, and unpredictable outcomes."
~Bruce Lawrence, author of The Qur'an: A Biography
"West Africa's Women of God is an important intervention in scholarship on African religious traditions, women's movements in West Africa, and histories and cultures of Diola peoples."
~Journal of West African History