Acknowledgments
Compiling sources, ideas, and memories for a book that intends to contribute to the nascent literature on Africa-China cooperation for development has been a daunting task, one which has required great sacrifice in terms of family life and family resource management.
I owe deep gratitude to my spouse, Zara Laya, for her encouragement, patience, and for the enduring loneliness she and my younger son, Rondoo, had to face during a time when we were supposed to be free of any constraints, except supporting Rondoo’s medical studies.
I am indebted to my children, Dr. Rolel Mbaidjol, Dr. Morombaye Mbaidjol, and Dr. Zacharia Mbaidjol, for their encouragement, their countless ways of providing material support, and more importantly, their great readership skills.
Thanks to my son, Kabra Mbaidjol, who extended the benefits of his job as a professional commercial pilot to add to my worldwide mobility. Thanks to him I have been able to reconsider some of my findings, vet my sources of information, and take some more time for an inspiring vacation.
A special thank you to my friend and former classmate, Professor Bart Brown of Chicago Kent College, for having shown interest in my research work and for having directed me to the editing competencies of Tricia Parker, who has brought this work up to the required standard.