Originally published in 1976, this book was the first comprehensive analysis in English of the post-independence developments in the West African Republic of Guinea. It is a scholarly analysis of the different aspects of life in the country: political, economic and social. Among other things, the significance and consequences of the 1958 historic vote for independence are carefully examined: the role of President Touré, the country's first and only Head of State, is assessed; the role of one of Africa's earliest single mass parties, the Democratic Party of Guinea is also discussed, and the abortive invasion of November 1970 is situated in its correct historical perspective. This carefully researched book was based on observation and interviews, and on published and unpublished government and party documents, most of which were only available inside Guinea.