Examining the 2000 civil cases brought before the provincial level native court (tribunaux de province) of the French West Africa Federation in four districts in the French Soudan, Roberts (African history, Stanford U.) moves back and forth between analysis of aggregate trends in African civil disputes and the individual cases that compose the trends in order to investigate the tensions within African households during a moment of rapid social change. After introducing and defending his theoretical and methodological approach, he uses the court records to analyze how African women were experiencing struggles between former slaves and masters in the immediate aftermath of the end of slavery, changing patterns of marriage and divorce, bridewealth disputes, disputes of changing forms of property, and disputes over inheritance. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)