This is an important volume that belongs in the library of anyone seriously interested in Bougainville before - and after - the conflict. Like all volumes that derive from conferences, it contains a variety of viewpoints and professional orientations - so many that it might be subtitled "Ways of Seeing Bougainville." Although the first two sections of the book's five sections are written by "the usual suspects," the next three sections include work by authors new to me. It is a fine thing to see new names associated with Bougainville research and commentary, and even finer that among the 23 authors (of 30 chapters) 6 are Bougainvilleans. (Disclaimer: I am a Bougainville anthropologist and know many of the authors; I was asked to contribute a chapter, but was unable to do so in time for the publication.)

Contributors to the first section ("The Place and the People") represent archaeology, geology, linguistics, and anthropology. All make the point that Bougainville language and culture is impressively diverse and complex. For example, there are perhaps 25 languages among some 175,000 people. Numeric caution is required here, as elsewhere in the book: the authors have as many ways of counting and classifying as ways of seeing. This is a virtue, not a defect, because Bougainville has been in state of flux for many decades. These, and other, chapters offer no support for those who might prefer to characterize Bougainvilleans as homogenous.

The second section ("The Colonial Period to World War II") is the work of historians. The chapters are of uneven quality, and overlap considerably. There is ritual flogging of Eurocentric observers: Elder accuses Thurnwald, Blackwood, Chinnery, and Oliver of "extracting intellectual property in the form of sociological and ethnographic data..." (164); I cannot think how what they did differs from what a modern fieldworker does. Helga Griffin, in a chapter dominated by praise for Thurnwald, attempts to locate "hidden values" (205) among fieldworkers of the 60s and 70s, but the connections seem superficial.

I found the third section ("Economic and Social Change Post-World War II") the most interesting. The contributors - economist, agricultural researcher (Buin), miner, historian, politicians (Buin; Torau), teacher (Buin) are a varied lot, and ironies abound. For example, Lummani wonders whether Francis Ona and the BRA's attempt to "restore egalitarian fairness by trying to suppress developmental change" may actually have "contributed to an ever-widening situation of inequality" because Bougainvilleans "are even more dependent on cash-crop income than before the conflict" (252). The other chapters give examples of unintended and unforeseen consequences, perhaps nowhere more than in Vernon's contribution - a forthright statement from a CRA/BCL miner's perspective. I found his many "had we only known..." statements unconvincing. The information Vernon regrets not having could not have been difficult to obtain; the search for "hidden values" would be fruitful here.

The fourth section ("Persepectives [sic] on Particular Bougainville Societies") comprises competent journeyman descriptions of Buin, Haku, Nasioi, and Nagovisi. The writers - all anthropologists, one a Bougainvillean - also provide short, impressionistic post-conflict portraits.

The final section ("Towards Understanding the Origins of the Conflict") is especially useful because both writers were importantly involved with the crisis and its aftermath: Regan as an outside advisor, and Tanis (Nagovisi) as a BRA functionary, a peace process worker, and BIPG Minister. Tanis' piece moves effectively between detailed descriptions of village life and the broad sweep of the Crisis.

One final comment. Most of the authors take pains to cite multiple causes of socioeconomic change and the conflict. The list is not surprising: missionization, plantations, WW II, cash cropping, the copper mine, unwelcome migrants, and others. However, I was astonished to find only one (passing) reference to the taro blight that fundamentally altered subsistence and forced dramatic socioeconomic change in many areas in the post-WWII period. If this volume has a systemic defect, it is that the authors commonly explain change exclusively in terms of human behavior. None of the authors (except Lummani) consider ecological factors except as asides or when assessing mine-related environmental disasters. It is sad that a volume representing multiple points of view lacks this important perspective.

Buffalo State College, Buffalo, New York, USA DON MITCHELL