Akshay Sarathi, Editor: Early Maritime Cultures in East Africa and the Western Indian Ocean: Papers from a Conference Held at the University of Wisconsin–Madison (African Studies Program) 23–24th October 2015, with Additional Contributions: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd., Oxford, 2018, Viii + 228 pp, £40 (Paperback), ISBN: 978-1-78491-712-8. Also Available as an E-book (Open Access) ISBN: 978-1-78491-713-5

Given the scope of its content, the book would have benefited from an introductory chapter from the editor. The breadth of regional, chronological and methodological coverage presented together in a single volume is the key strength of the book, and the editor should be congratulated for soliciting additional contributions from beyond the conference attendees. Although this is the only chapter in the volume that deals with heritage that falls within the traditional remit of maritime archaeology - specifically boats - she embeds her study of a traditional craft into a broader narrative. [Extracted from the article]