“In my considered opinion, Paths toward the Nation is an excellent scholarly work that tells the story of the evolution and struggle for survival of Eritrean nationalism .… Venosa’s work represents a significant contribution to the study of Eritrea’s national struggle for independence” “One of the lesser-acknowledged outcomes of [Eritrea’s] travails is that its historical trajectory has been neglected by scholars in favor of presentist concerns with the incumbent regime. Joseph L. Venosa’s Paths toward the Nation is a refreshing and innovative exception to that trend, a powerful exemplar of the insights which can be provided by sustained, cogent, and indeed courageous historical research into the most complex and shadowed of places.”
American Historical Review, Vol. 120, Issue 5, 2015
“This book is of interest to a wide range of readers…Joseph Venosa skillfully discusses [Eritrean political processes], bringing them together into a broadly based narrative through which we can see evolution of a complex road towards Eritrean independence and how the Muslims in Eritrea have become part of its national consciousness.”
The Historian
“The major significance of Joseph L. Venosa’s work lies in the rejection of [the] hegemonic narrative … Venosa does a good job in chronicling the birth, growth, and demise of the Muslim League as a factor in Eritrean politics.”
Canadian Journal of History
“This work is very well written and organized, and Venosa makes excellent use of primary documents to reconstruct a history of activism and sociopolitical transformations taking place among Eritrean Muslim populations during the period under analysis.”