Palm oil and small chop / John Goble.

"Palm oil is the quintessence of West Africa and small chop is the addition of ingredients that make it palatable for European taste. From the unique perspective of working aboard merchant ships trading to the area, the author provides a viewpoint of the first 25 years of West African independence - it is simultaneously the story of the final years of many of the British Merchant Navy's liner trades where fortunes largely depended upon imperial routes. The author served in ships of three very different shipping companies and from this unusual breadth of experience, a fascinating story of ships, their crews, their cargoes and the peoples from Senegal to Angola is told. The last of the famous surf ports, the navigation of the twisting waterways of the Niger Delta and the ascent of the great Congo River are vividly described. Told sympathetically, yet with a keen eye for the absurd and downright funny, this is a lively and colourful story of ordinary people trying to make a living in a world where events, over which they have no control, change their lives irreversibly."--Provided by the publisher.