Photographs from the early 1900s to 1997 provide visual insights into the appearance of Zambian Jewry, their Synagogue, shops, and the like. The book also includes a list of abbreviations, copious endnotes, and a thirteen-page index. Unlike the strict religious definition that values maternal descent, the authors provide an ethnic definition to include anyone of Jewish descent, including those who converted to Christianity, and others who consider themselves Jewish through paternal descent and for other reasons. This resulted in building an infrastructure that included such institutions as Hebrew congregations, synagogues, and even a commitment to the secular national movement, Zionism. What is undeniable is that a strong motivation to succeed, the predominance of close-knit family networks, and, what is most important, a system of direct links with London merchants, personal trust, and the extension of credit system were crucial elements that contributed, for instance, to the eventual success of the Diamond family's business, or that saved the Susmans from bankruptcy.
Several chapters are devoted to the history of prominent families in a more explicit fashion.
Chapter Two, for example, recounts the history of the Susman family from their humble beginnings as cattle traders to their contributions to the economic development of both Northern and Southern Rhodesia. Both brothers Elie and Harry Susman came from an Orthodox family in the Lithuanian shtetl of Riteve. As pioneer cattle-traders, they had overcome the risks posed by the tsetse fly, lions, and crocodiles when crossing the Zambezi river. Chapter Four provides information on Moss Dobkins, a Jewish trader who arrived from England in 1905 and died at the age of ninety in 1984. The information relies upon Dobkins' diary and his partial autobiography.