Asking what archaeology can bring to the debate on liminal peoples in West African societies, and drawing together for the first time the extensive literature on the subject of outsiders, this volume looks in detail at the role outsiders played in the past 1000 years of the West African past, in particular in the construction of great empires. The value of this book lies not only in its contributions to West African archaeology, but importantly in those it makes to the comparative studies of the archaeology and history of ancient complex societies worldwide. Haour indeed offers us a great deal to think about in this tightly focused, insightful and nicely crafted book.