As I was preparing to write this review, I happened to pull from my shelf V. S. Naipaul's The Masques of Africa (2010), in which the author devotes a few paragraphs to discussing the place of animals in Nigeria. Naipaul reproduces the enduring stereotypes of white people as lovers and protectors of animals and of Africans as cruel and inhumane. Save one Nigerian Naipual met, only white people in the country (he claims) were concerned about alleviating the suffering of beasts. Into this flattened stereotype comes a fascinating new book by Saheed Aderinto, who presents a far more complex and nuanced account of the role of animals in Nigerian history, one that takes African perspectives seriously.