measured conclusion: "Ehret has produced a remarkably coherent and detailed history which should spur further research". The historian Esperanza Brizuela-Garcia, in her review of The Civilizations of Africa for the African Studies Review, calls this book "challenging and innovative" for presenting "the early history of Africa within the context of wide historical processes such as the development of agriculture, the emergence of metalwork, and the evolution of trade…. It gives these themes a thorough and masterful treatment…. By looking at broad themes of the history of human experience, Ehret is able to explain what makes Africa unique and what makes it comparable to other continents". She concludes: "The most important achievement of Ehret’s book is that finally the early history of the continent is taken seriously and is presented in detail and form that do justice to its complexity and depth. One hopes that Christopher Ehret has initiated a new trend in the writing of African history textbooks, one that challenges previously accepted chronologies and ideas and presents us with an interpretation that connects social, economic, political, and cultural history". Scott MacEachern's review of the same book for the Journal of Africa History adds an archaeologist's perspective: "The book is well written and comprehensive and abundantly illustrates the richness and complexity of African societies over many thousands of years. More discussion of methodologies and data compatibility, and a more complete reference list, would have been useful. It will make a fine introductory text for courses in African history, especially if supplemented by books and papers that reflect other research methods and their results". Ehret's linguistic tome, Reconstructing Proto-Afroasiatic (Proto-Afrasian): Vowels, Tone, Consonants, and Vocabulary (1995), is the subject of a detailed review article in Afrika und Übersee by the distinguished scholar of Afroasiatic languages, Ekkehard Wolff. Wolff writes: "Ehrets opus magnum ist ein Parforce-Ritt durch schwierigstes Terrain, bei dem sich der Reiter auch an die steilsten Hindernissen überraschend gut in Sattel hält und an nur einer einzigen Hürde nach Meinung des Rez. scheitert (…Tonalität). Es ist ein nahezu unmöglisches, ein sehr mutiges und ein möglicherweise epochales Buch". ("Ehret’s opus magnum is a steeplechase ride through the most difficult terrain, in which the rider stays in the saddle astonishingly well even at the steepest obstacles and, in the opinion of the reviewer, crashes at only a single hurdle (…tone). It is a nearly impossible, a very courageous, and a possibly epochal