American scholars write about the equatorial African country in the context of the political-economic, educational, and environmental pressures of global modernity, particularly how the country and its people respond to the forces that, like colonialism before it and mercantilism before that, seek to keep them small, dependent, and readily exploitable. The 13 studies discuss the natural environment, historical cases and issues, politics, and society, and prospects for the future. They are double spaced. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR