The Maxims, thoughts and riddles of the Mossi, by Dim-Dolobsom Ouedraogo, offers a glimpse of Burkina Faso barely 30 years after the French colonised it to within an inch of its life.Burkina Faso: Unsteady Statehood in West Africa, by Pierre Englebert is an introduction to the country's recent history, and current economic and political status.Frederic Guirma's Tales of Mogho: African Stories from Upper Volta sets out in print some of Burkina Faso's older history that is part of their strong oral tradition.