Book reviews: Central Asia

The Suez Canal in World Affairs. By Hugh J. Schonfield. Constellation Books. Pp. 174, illustrated. 15s.

Crusader Castles. By Robin Fedden. A brief study of the Military Architecture of the Crusades. London : Art and Technics. 1950. Pp. 96. 15s.

Mamluk Costume. By L. A. Mayer. Geneva : Albert Kundig. Pp. 120 with 20 Plates. 1952.

An English‐Turkish Dictionary. By Fahir Iz and H. C. Hony. Clarendon Press. Pp. xii+510. 1952. 42s.

Sultan's Pleasure, and Other Turkish Recipes. By Robin Howe and Pauline Espir. P. Garnett. Pp. 152. 1952. 10s. 6d.

Omar Khayyam. A New Version based upon Recent Discoveries. By Professor Arthur J. Arberry. John Murray. Pp. 159. 15s.

Avicenna : Scientist and Philosopher. Ed. by G. M. Wickens. Luzac and Co. Pp. 128. 1952. 15s.

Afghanistan. Crocevia dell’ Asia. Antonio Vallardi Editore. Second Edition.

Secret Tibet. By Fosco Maraini, translated by Eric Mosbacker and with an introductory letter by Bernard Berensen. 60 illustrations from photographs by the author. Hutchinson. Pp. 251. 1952. 30s.

Hong Kong. By Harold Ingrams. Stationery Office. Pp. xii +307 and Map. 1952–27s. 6d.

Windows for the Crown Prince. By Elizabeth Gray Vining.

Konmara Pia Zat. By U Pok Ni. Vol. I : Introduction and Translation. By Hla Pe. Luzac. 6? × 9 3/4?. Pp. viii + 162. 37s. 6d.

Ceylon. By Sydney D. Bailey. Hutchinson's University Library. Pp. 168. 1952. 8s. 6d.

Outlines of Muhammadan Law. By Asaf A. A. Fyzee. Oxford University Press. Pp. xvi+443. 1949. Rs. 16.     

Book Reviews: South East Asia

The best Lapis lazuli in the world comes from Afghanistan, from Badakhshan, where it has been mined for over 6,000 years.

Merchants carried lapis to cities all over Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt, where distinctive ornaments have subsequently been excavated. More recently emerged a quite different use of lapis-the grinding of the stone to produce pigment for painting (ultramarine) This technique travelled as much as the stone itself from caves in Asia through wall paintings of the early Middle Ages to the Italian Renaissance and, finally to Titian     

Book Reviews: General

The story of three businessmen who worked in Afghanistan in the period from the end of the nineteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth, during the reigns of Abdur Rahman and then Habibullah, The businessmen, Messrs Martin, Thornton and Jewett faced formidable problems in dealing with the autocratic and arbitrary Amirs, who might be a force for progress or inertia, depending on their moods. Many Afghan officials were both venal and indolent-not a productive combination. But the workmen, though almost all uneducated and unfamiliar with machinery, proved adaptable, though their working conditions were grim.     

Book reviews: East Asia

This article surveys the challenges faced by agriculture in present-day Tajikistan. These include the collapse of supply chains, lack of access to markets and a shortage of labour following the collapse of the USSR – problems which Tajikistan has not been able to remedy unlike some other Central Asian states. This article looks at the effect of the problems, and the recent efforts to reform laws of land tenure in Tajikistan. It examines the effect of these reforms, particularly on families and women, and surveys the prospects that the latest reforms have for successful implementation.     

Book reviews: South Asia

This policy essay examines the historical and policy evolution in Bhutan from the creation of Bhutan in the 1600s to 2014. An examination of the overarching policy intent of Gross National Happiness is reviewed as well as how modern political institutions in Bhutan implement Gross National Happiness. In the 17^th and 18^th centuries, the new Bhutanese state founded by the Shabrung Ngawang Namgyal established its political and institutional right and legitimacy to rule based on Mahayana Buddhism canonical tenets, including ensuring that Bhutanese citizens could obtain Enlightenment and happiness. A modern manifestation of this historical precedent for state and political institutional intervention to promote collective happiness is embodied in the policy of Gross National Happiness. This essay concludes by noting that modern Gross National Happiness is a holistic development approach based on a trend emanating from more ancient Mahayana Buddhist traditions Gross National Happiness balanced with modern economic, governmental, and social conditions with Mahayana Buddhist spiritual requirements embodied in Gross National Happiness.     

Book Reviews

Matthew Amengual, Politicized Enforcement in Argentina: Labor and Environmental Regulation. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Figures, tables, appendix, notes, bibliography, index, 286 pp.; hardcover $99.99, ebook $80. Matthew C. Ingram, Crafting Courts in New Democracies: The Politics of Subnational Judicial Reform in Brazil and Mexico. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015. Maps, figures, tables, appendixes, bibliography, index, 392 pp.; hardcover, $110. Russell Crandall, The Salvador Option: The United States in El Salvador, 1977–1992. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Photographs, maps, figures, list of organizations, bibliography, index, 698 pp; hardcover $99.99, paperback $39.99, ebook $32. Luis Fernando Angosto‐Ferrández, Venezuela Reframed: Bolivarianism, Indigenous Peoples and Socialisms of the Twenty‐First Century. London: Zed Books, 2015. Appendix, bibliography, index, 312 pp.; paperback, ebook. Fábio de Castro, Barbara Hogenboom, and Michiel Baud, eds., Environmental Governance in Latin America. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016. Tables, figures, map, bibliography, index, 350 pp.; hardcover $31, ebook. Eduardo Alemán and George Tsebelis, eds., Legislative Institutions and Lawmaking in Latin America. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016. Figures, tables, notes, bibliography, index, 296 pp.; hardcover $90, ebook. Joseph S. Tulchin, Latin America in International Politics: Challenging U.S. Hegemony. Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 2016. Bibliography, index, 235 pp.; hardcover $60. Kevin P. Gallagher, The China Triangle: Latin America's China Boom and the Fate of the Washington Consensus. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016. Tables, figures, bibliography, index, 256 pp.; hardcover $27.95, ebook.     

Book Reviews

Books reviewed in this issue. The Balfour Declaration: The Origins of the Arab‐Israeli Conflict , by Jonathan Schneer. “This Time We Went Too Far”: Truth and Consequences of the Gaza Invasion , by Norman G. Finkelstein. After War: The Political Economy of Exporting Democracy , by Christopher J. Coyne. Turkey, Islam, Nationalism and Modernity: A History, 1789–2007 , by Carter Vaughn Findley. The East Moves West: India, China, and Asia's Growing Presence in the Middle East , by Geoffrey Kemp. Arab Economies in the Twenty‐First Century , by Paul Rivlin     

Book Reviews

Der Schweizerische Wohlfahrtsstaat: Zum Ausbau des Sozialen Sicherungssystems 1975–2005 Moser, Julia Les cantons suisses face au chômage: Fédéralisme et politique de l'emploi Perret, Virgile, Giraud, Oliver, Helbing Marc et Monica Battaglini European Unions: Labor's Quest for a Transnational Democracy Erne, Roland Politische Führung von Gemeinden: Eine Einführung für die Praxis Willimann, Ivo, Pfäffli, Stefan und Michael Heike     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: A NEW BRITANNIA: An argument concerning the social origins of Australian radicalism and nationalism. By Humphrey McQueen. THE AUSTRALIAN NEW LEFT: Critical Essays and Strategy. Edited by Richard Gordon. THE SPLIT: Australian Labor in the fifties. By Robert Murray. EVATT: Politics and Justice. By Kylie Tennant. AUSTRALIA AND THE GREAT DEPRESSION: A Study of Economic Development and Policy in the 1920's and 1930's. By C. B. Schedvin. AUSTRALIA WET OR DRY?: The Physical and Economic Limits to the Expansion of Irrigation. By B. R. Davidson. THE DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION OF AUSTRALIA. By Erwin H. J. Feeken, Gerda E. E. Feeken and O. H. K. Spate. THE UNIVERSITY EXPERIENCE: An Australian Study. By Graham Little. AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND AND THE UNITED STATES: A Survey of International Relations 1941–1968. By Trevor R. Reese. THE ECONOMICS OF SOCIALISM: Principles Governing the Operation of the Centrally Planned Economies in the U.S.S.R. and Eastern Europe under the New System. By J. Wilczyinski. THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION: The origins, phases and meaning of the Bolshevik victory. By Marcel Liebman. Translated by Arnold J. Pomerans THE POLITICS OF NEW STATES: A general analysis with case studies from Eastern Asia. Edited by Roger Scott. THE THIRD WORLD. By Peter Worsley. TOWARDS UHURU IN TANZANIA: The Politics of Participation. By G. Andrew Maguire. CITY POLITICS: A Study of Léopoldville, 1962–63. By J. S. La Fontaine. THE POLITICS OF FOREIGN AID IN INDIA. By P. J. Eldridge. STUDIES IN INDIAN FOREIGN POLICY. Edited by K. P. Misra. INDIA AND THE COMMONWEALTH. By S. C. Gangal. Agra, S. Lal Agarwala and Co. PARTY LEADERSHIP AND REVOLUTIONARY POWER IN CHINA. Edited by J. W. Lewis. IMPERIAL CONSTANTINOPLE. By Dean A. Miller. POLITICS AND BUREAUCRACY IN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY: A Portrait of the Commission of the E.E.C. By David Coombes. COMMONWEALTH OR EUROPE. By G. St. J. Barclay. BRITISH TRADE UNIONS AND THE PROBLEM OF CHANGE. By Will Paynter. MONARCHY AND COMMUNITY: Political Ideas in the Later Conciliar Controversy 1430–1450. By A. J. Black. INTERNATIONAL GUIDE TO ELECTORAL STATISTICS: Volume 1, National Elections in Western Europe. Edited by Stein Rokkan and Jean Meyriat. THE LAW OF TREASON IN ENGLAND IN THE LATER MIDDLE AGES. By J. G. Bellany.