If you read only one book on Mozambique, it should be Kalashnikovs and Zombie Cucumbers, by Nick Middleton, which covers the colonial era, South African and superpower involvement in the war, and various aspects of the country today.William Minter looks at the roots of the civil war in Apartheid's Contras, as does William Finnigan in The Harrowing of Mozambique.And Still They Dance, by Stephanie Urdang, is a study of women's roles in the war and struggles for change in Mozambique.Artists de Moçambique, a large, glossy coffeetable book, is a good introduction to the country's principal artists. Other books in the same series include Mascaras, on traditional masks, and Ilha de Moçambique, on the former island capital.