This preowned, in good condition, first edition 1938 cloth hard back (no dust jacket) book is a historical account of East Africa and its invaders from the earliest times to the death of Sayyid Syed in 1856, with the focus on British efforts to suppress the Arab slave trade.Who was Sayyid Said? Well he was the Sultan of Muscat and Oman, considered one of the most powerful and influential rulers of the Omani Empire. His reign completely transformed the geopolitics of East Africa, making the historic decision in 1840 to move the main capital of his entire empire from the Arabian Peninsula (Muscat) to the tropical island of Zanzibar.Whilst this book comes without a dust jacket, it still contains a large fold map at the back of the book.One minor, but interesting fact, is this books flyleaf has the original owners name inked - Herbert Burton. Professor Herbert Burton served as the inaugural principal and Professor of Economic History at Canberra University College (CUC) from 1948 to 1960. He was influential in the development of CUC growing to what it is today; the Australian National University (ANU ). In addition, it appears that his personal edition was eventually submitted to the History S.G.S. ( School of General Studies) Departmental Library as indicated via the stamp which appears periodically throughout the book. (S.G.S.). 
Cover and spine show evidence of wear, which is to be expected for a book of this age. Minimal  foxing on pages edge's with near nothing on the page surfaces themselves.