I have found this book absolutely essential when working in the forest zone of West Africa. No other book is more comprehensive for the region. Another review here comments on the illustrations and species descriptions being inadequate. Very little is known about birds from this region and, although brief, the species descriptions are accurate and often essential when identifying tricky species. The plates are not all that inspiring but they adequately illustrate plumage variations and are perfect for the purpose of identification and separation of similar species. Descriptions of vocalisations are as good as they can be and I have found the maps to be accurate.
If you intend on serious birding in difficult environments and want to be able to separate one nondescript greenbul from another, you will NEED this book. If you want to admire the odd bird on a safari holiday then either go for the smaller, field guide version of this book or another less specialised book with nice pictures. In short, this is one of my favourite bird books!