Although many scholars scoff and old hands grow exasperated, Africanists refuse to stop trying to ‘introduce’ the politics of Africa to the uninitiated. Doubtless some of this effort is sustained by visions of cash customers, laymen, and students, eager to state the curiosities awakened by the great changes that have transformed the continent since 1955. As the revolution shows few signs of losing momentum, the prospects are rather dim for any immediate shrinkage in the mass market. But a purely exploitative interest should not mask the basic importance of a reliable guide to the dynamics of political reconstruction in Africa today.