writer with the single exception ofnHerodotus. Still, he has his admirers,nand modern college students cannotnentirely resist his charm, try as theynmight.nHerodotus has been translated annumber of times into English in thenpast 100 years. George Rawlinson’snstately (but sometimes ponderous) versionnis available (slightly revised)nthrough Modern Library, while Aubreynde Selincourt’s brisk and readablenPenguin is perhaps the most widelynread. Enoch Powell, an importantnHerodotean scholar before he becamenan MP, also did a translation in thenlate 1940’s. Why a new version, then?nDavid Grene, in an introduction thatnmay interest literary critics but supplynlittle in the way of useful informationnto students or casual readers, declaresnthat Rawlinson is “dull and prolix,”nwhile the Penguin “sounds exactly asnthough new-minted by a twentiethncentury journalist”—judgments thatnare neither fair nor polite to his predecessors.nHis own preference is for antone that is “literary and whimsical.”nThe only whimsy I can discern is in annodd preference for a stilted academicnstyle and British diction (e.g., “corn”nfor grain). Gonsider this bit of whimsy:n”So, penned in helplessness, Arionnbesought them, since they were sondetermined, to stand by and watchnhim while he sang, standing with allnhis gear on him. …” Or this: “Fearnneither myself, lest I might suggest thisnas a trial of you, nor yet my wife.” Anstudent looking up the Greek words inna Victorian lexicon might have comenup with such language, but more wasnto be expected from a University ofnChicago professor and the Universitynof Chicago Press. Fortunately, the $30nprice tag will serve to keep it out of thenhands of students. (TF)nStates of Naturenby Peter J. LeithartnThe Africans by David Lamb, NewnYork: Vintage Books; $8.95.nA renaissance of American interest inncontemporary Africa has been stimulatednby media blitzes on famineriddennEthiopia and politically volatilenSouth Africa, and by an award-nwinning film about a Norwegian adulteress’snAfrican farm. Among the currentncrop of books is David Lamb’s ThenAfricans, an update of a 1983 book.nLamb, who spent four years in Nairobinas a correspondent for the Los AngelesnTimes, provides an introduction to then46 political entities—few have earnednthe exalted title of “nation”—of sub-nSaharan Africa.nLamb’s description reveals that thendominant political reality of Africa isntribalism. In this sense, the muchpublicizednbut comparatively peacefulnracial conflict in South Africa is microcosmicnof a continental reality. Inntiny Burundi, for example, the Watusi,na dominant majority, set out inn1972 to massacre the educated membersnof the majority Hutu tribe. Innonly three months, 200,000 Hutusnwere killed. Since independence, similarnhorrors have erupted throughoutnblack Africa, as tribes vie with onenanother in bloody struggles for politicalnhegemony, while much of thenbloodshed remains unreported in thenWestern (and African) press. Tribesnlacking political power inaugurate revolutions;nparanoia leads dominantntribes to genocide. Politically, tribalnAfrica is a scene of unbelievablenHobbesian turmoil, of revolving-doornregimes—an oversized Italy with gunsnand knives and cannibalism.nThe answer to Africa’s many problems,nLamb argues, is economic, notnpolitical. This is certainly sage advice,nbut he unfortunately undermines it innseveral ways. He calls for continuednWestern, state-to-state aid to black Africanbecause, in spite of the evidentnself-serving corruption of many Africanngovernments, “the concept of internationalnaid remains a good one.”nPerhaps the problem is that aid is morenthan a “concept.” In any case, Lambnseems ignorant of the work of P.T.nBauer and others, who have shownneven the concept of international aid tonbe fatally and fundamentally flawed.nSimilarly, Lamb recognizes that Africa’snfew capitalist countries are consistentiynsuperior to Marxist or socialistnexperiments, not only economicallynnnbut politically and culturally, yet henadvocates the development of “mixedneconomies,” He insists that Africanncountries need not “rush out andnabandon socialism in favor ofnAmerican-style capitalism,” thoughnthe whole thrust of his observationsnsuggests some such conclusion. Lambnurges an economic revolution but hesitatesnto encourage a capitalistnrevolution.nDespite these flaws. Lamb has beennable to maintain balance in a booknabout the “Third World,” which is nonmean feat. While he believes thatnEuropean colonization provided nonenduring benefit to Africa, he alsoncharges Africans with creating many ofntheir own problems, so much so thatnthe original edition of the book wasnbanned in some African countries.nMemorable, often firsthand portrayalsnof Africa’s brutal comic-strip presidentsnand its one erstwhile emperor,nfinally, make The Africans a grippingnread.nPeter ]. Leithart is editor of AmericannVision.n”…may offendnYuppie internationalists!’n— Paul GottfriednEditor, The WbrldandlnPUTTING AMERICA FIRST:nA CONSERVATIVE TRADEnALTERNATIVEnEdited by Anthony HarrigannFive Uvely essays make plain thenharm done to the U.S. by “free”ntrade, despite apologists to the leftnand right. The conservative alternative?nA national interest tradenpolicy. Send $8.45 (includesnshipping & handling) to USICnEducational Foundation,n220 National Press Building,nWashington, D.C. 20045.n• InNOVEMBER 1987 I 43n