Monica Wilson and the late Godfrey Wilson wrote this book as a result of field work in Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia, where they were able to observe the impact of European civilization upon traditional African societies and the structural changes that accompanied it. These effects are described here and studied in order to see what fundamental relations may be discovered between the various changes observed. General theories of the movement of civilization can thus be tested against the particular instance of this part of Africa since 1944, the study is still of importance as a pioneering study of social change.