Grubbs (history, Georgia State U.) examines American representations of development and underdevelopment in Africa during the depth of the Cold War, not in order to propose yet another authoritative and competitive explanation for the continent's woes, but to clear a trail that might open new intellectual territory for further exploration. His topics include the most innocent of continents, the gospel of modernization, the moral equivalent of anti-colonialism, a decade of disillusionment, and fetish nation. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)