Black Diaspora

South African-born Segal, founding editor of the Penguin African Library, states he could never get an author to tackle the daunting task of chronicling the path of Africans to the New World and the contrasts and links between their cultures. His own effort, which he acknowledges is ``in no way definitive,'' begins with an account of the slave trade and moves on to exploring life in the colonies, the path to emancipation and his own brief visits to countries in the Caribbean and the Americas. Sacrificing depth for breadth, this report is no source for insight on the U.S. (one paragraph for Brown v. Board of Education; another on rap music). The book's strength is its sensitivity in tracking the varieties of the black experience, from the ``colonial conservatory'' of Barbados to the cosmopolitan life of Trinidad to the black loss of identity in vast Brazil. Segal's concluding section selectively delves into the black legacy, including varieties of music, art, creole languages, sport and religion. Segal's book should stimulate future explorations. (June)