This is a modern history of Tanganyika based on written sources and concentrating on the colonial period. Tanganyika as defined by its colonial borders is the appropriate unit of study in this period, although the name will also be used in a purely geographical sense to describe the same area before colonial rule. The book seeks to synthesise research by many scholars working in Tanganyika since it became independent in 1961, in the hope that despite the difficulty of the task and the vast areas of ignorance remaining, a synthesis by one author may help to focus thought and stimulate research.

The book is a general history which deals with many aspects of Tanganyika's past and with numerous small societies. It is written in the belief that the essence of history is complexity. To comprehend such diversity and write a connected history of such a land requires organising themes. Those chosen are the five most important aspects of Tanganyika's modern experience. Most have attracted the attention of particular scholars, so that to outline themes is also to identify recent approaches to Tanganyikan history. The approaches are not mutually exclusive: each is merely a narrow beam of light penetrating the obscurity of the past. Sometimes the beams merge and a larger area becomes visible. Sornetimes the themes connect and true historical understanding becomes possible.