Tal: Location and History: Regaining Lost Ground

This book is a fascinating account of several important themes on Tal geography, history, agriculture, religion, arts, culture, science, and technology. Several experts from various academic disciplines contributed to this work, adding to its fascination and strength. The main researcher, Gideon Baklit, and his colleague, the late Charles C. Jacobs, are well-known scholars. The former is a geographer, while the latter was a historian with training in social anthropology. The two have blended together to produce a pioneering study of the cultural ecology of Tal society through time in a thrilling and captivating manner.

PRINCIPAL AUTHOR: Mr. Gideon Baklit is an associate professor (research reader) in the Department of Geography and Planning, University of Jos. Before joining the university, he received training in the following institutions: Boys Secondary School, Gindiri (1970–1975); Advanced Teachers College, Zaria (1976–1979) where he obtained a BA in geography single honors and later on master of science in rural development in 1991. He worked with Plateau State Ministry of Education and rose to the rank of education officer before leaving for University of Jos as a junior research fellow in the Center for Development Studies. He has been to King's College, University of London, on Biomass Study Research program in 2000 and 2002. As a research scholar, he took an interest in writing the history of Tal and completed the work that Dr. C. C. Jacob planned to accomplish. Dr. C. C. Jacob, an erudite scholar, a historian of international repute, was the principal motivator of writing the history of Tal people. While working as a senior lecturer in the Department of History, University of Jos, in the 1990s. He kept encouraging a few elites from Tal to support the book project. Even when he finally left the University of Jos to Benue State University, he kept faith with the project until his departure from planet Earth.