David Courtney ConradDavid Conrad received his Ph.D. in African History from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London in 1981. He is Emeritus Professor of History, State University of New York at Oswego, and was President of the Mande Studies Assoiation 1986-2008. His research is on oral tradition, indigenous religion and early kingdoms of the Western Sudan. Among his books are A State of Intrigue: The Epic of Bamana Segu According to Tayiru Banbera (British Academy, 1990), Epic Ancestors of the Sunjata Era: Oral Tradition from the Maninka of Guinea (University of Wisconsin, 1999), Somono Bala of the Upper Niger: River People, Charismatic Bards, and Mischievous Music in a West African Culture (Brill, 2002), Sunjata: A West African Epic of the Mande Peoples (Hackett Publishing, 2004), and the prize-winning Empires of Medieval West Africa (Chelsea House Publishers, 2010). Read More Read Less