Abstract

Missionaries in Africa

This article discusses two books on the topic missionaries in Africa. The books are "Black Treasure," by Basil Mathews, "Sons of Africa," by Georgina A. Gollock, and "The Call Drums," by Mary Entwistle and Elizabeth Harris. For books as sympathetic toward the native African as these to have been published by organizations in the mission fields twenty-five years ago would have been unthinkable and they reflect a hopeful change on the part of societies engaged in this kind of work. The books by Mathews and Gollock are mainly biographical. The other is a highly idealized picture of conditions in a West African settlement when a missionary arrives. The first two books make one realize what stunning biographic material exists in the history of Africa.