Book reviews

General

Asia's Population Problems. With a discussion of Populations and Immigration in Australia. Edited by S. Chandrasekhar. London, Allen and Unwin, 1967. Pp. 311. Map. Index. 45s.

Central Asia

Islam in the Soviet Union. By Alexandra Bcnningsen and Chantal Lemercier‐Quelquejay. London, Pall Mall Press in association with the Central Asian Research Centre, 1967. Pp. xiii + 272. Maps. Bibliog. Indexes. 50s.

A Sino‐Soviet Cultural Frontier. The Hi Kazakh Autonomous Chou. By George Moseley. Harvard University Press; London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. viii + 163. Index. 24s.

Afghanistan. By John C. Griffiths. London, Pall Mall Press, 1967. Pp. viii + 179. Maps. Index. 30s.

Afghanistan. By W. K. Fraser‐Tytler. Third edition, revised by M. C. Gillett. London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. xvi + 362. Maps. Illus. Bibliog. Index. 45s.

The Northern Tier: Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey. By Rouhollah K. Ramazani. Van Nostrand Inc., London and New York, 1966. Pp. 142. Maps. Bibliog. Index. 12s.

South Asia

Cabinet Government in India. By R. J. Venkateswaran. London, Allen and Unwin, 1967. Pp. 200. Bibliog. Index. 35s.

Experiment with Freedom. India and Pakistan, 1947. By Hugh Tinker. Published for Chatham House by Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. x + 165. 15s.

The Making of Pakistan. A Study in Nationalism. By K. K. Aziz. London, Chatto and Windus, 1967. Pp. 228. Bibliog. Index. 35s.

Pakistan: Its Ideology and Foreign Policy. By Arif Hussain. London, Frank Cass, 1966. Pp. 186. Bibliog. Index. 35s.

Land Tenure in Village Ceylon. A Sociological and Historical Study. By G. Obeyesekere. London, Cambridge University Press, 1967. Pp. xi + 319. Maps. Bibliog. Index. 70s.

South West Asia

The Middle East Crisis: A Personal Interpretation. By Glubb Pasha. London, Hodder and Stoughton, 1967. Pp. 48. Maps. 3s. 6d.

The Communist Movement in Iran. By Sepehr Zabih. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. London: Cambridge University Press, 1966. Pp. viii + 279. Bibliog. Index. $6.00. 48s.

South East Asia

Vietnam. A Diplomatic Tragedy. Origins of U.S. Involvement. By Victor Bator. London, Faber and Faber, 1967. Pp. 253. Map. Index. 42s.

Victor Charlie. The Face of War in Vietnam. By Kuno Knoebl. Translated from the German by Abe Farbstein. London, Pall Mall Press, 1967. Pp. xiv + 304. 42s.

A Concise History of Southeast Asia. By Nicholas Tarling. London, Pall Mall Press, 1967. Pp. xvix + 334. Maps. Bibliog. Index. 52s. 6d.

Malaysia and its Neighbours. By J. M. Gullick. London, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1967. Pp. xiii + 194. Map. Bibliog. Index. Hard cover, 25s. Paperback, 12s. 6d.

Ideology in Indonesia. Sukarno's Indonesian Revolution. By Donald E. Weather‐bee. Yale University. South East Asian Studies. Monograph Series No. 8, 1966. Pp. x + 125. (No price.)

International Aid to Thailand. The New Colonialism. By Ronald C. Nairn. London, Yale University Press, 1966. Pp. vi + 228. Bibliog. Index. 48s.

The Rice Bowl of Asia. By David M. Davies. London, Robert Hale, 1967. Pp. 176. 25s.

Far East

Stages of Industrial Development in Asia. By Sung Jae Koh. University of Pennsylvania Press; London, Oxford University Press, 1966. Pp. 461. Index 96s.

Britain and the Rise of Communist China. A Study of British Attitudes 1945–54. By Brian Porter. London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. 195. Bibliog. Index. 35s.

Political Participation in Communist China. By James R. Townsend. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1967. Pp. 233. Index. 44s.

The Function of “China” in Marx, Lenin and Mao. By Donald M. Lowe. University of California Press, 1967. Pp. xiv + 200. Bibliog. Index. 40s.

The Party and the National Question in China. Edited and translated by George Moseley. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press, 1966. Pp. ix + 186. Maps. Bibliog. Index. 60s.

The Role of the Chinese Army. By John Gittings. London, Oxford University Press for Chatham House, 1967. Pp. xix + 331. Bibliog. Index. 50s.

China Looks at the World. Reflections for a dialogue: eight letters to Tang‐lin. By François Geoffrey‐Dechaume. Translated from the French by Jean Stewart. Foreword by Philip Noel‐Baker, M.P.; Introduction by Professor Paul Mus. London, Faber, 1967. Pp. 327. Index. 36s.

The Chinese Chameleon. An Analysis of European Conceptions of Chinese Civilization. By Raymond Dawson. London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. 235. Illus. Bibliog. Index. 42s.

Biography and Autobiography

Gandhi's Emissary. By Sudhir Ghosh. London, The Cresset Press, 1967. Pp. 351. Illus. Index. 42s.

Rudyard Kipling. Realist and Fabulist. By Bonamy Dobrée. London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. x + 244. Index. 30s.

Early English Travellers in India. By Ram Chandra Prasad. Delhi, Sunderlal Jain, 1965. Pp. xxii + 392. Map. Illus. Bibliog. Index. Rs.25.

Warlord: Yen Hsi‐shan in Shansi Province, 1911–1949. By Donald G. Gillin. Princeton University Press; London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. xiv + 334. Maps. Bibliog. Index. 72s.

Ts'ao Yin and the K'ang‐hsi Emperor: Bondservant and Master. By Jonathan D. Spence. Yale University Press, 1967. Pp. xiv 4. 329. Map. Bibliog. Index. 56s.

Culture and civilization

Modern Arabic Short Stories. Selected and translated by Denys Johnson‐Davies, with an Introduction by Professor A. J. Arberry. London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. 194. 25s.

The Tree Climber. A Play. By Tewfik al Hakim. Translated from the Arabic by Denys Johnson‐Davies. London, Oxford University Press, 1966. Pp. 87. 6s. 6d.

Javid‐Nama. By Sir Muhammad Iqbal. Translated from the Persian with introduction and notes by A. J. Arberry. London, Allen and Unwin, 1966. Pp. 151. Bibliog. Index. 27s.

History

North‐West Frontier. People and Events 1839–1947. By Arthur Swinson. London, Hutchinson, 1967. Pp. 354. Maps. Illus. Bibliog. Index. 45s.

The West in Asia 1850–1914. By Michael Edwardes. London, Batsford, 1967. Pp. 216. Maps. Bibliog. Index. 42s.

Indochina. By Bernard Philippe Groslier, trans. James Hogarth. London, Frederick Muller, 1966. Pp. 283. Endpaper maps. 35 colour plates; 110 monochrome plates. Bibliog. Index. 70s.

Malaysia: Selected Historical Readings. Compiled by John Bastin and Robin W. W. Winks. Kuala Lumpur; London, Oxford University Press, 1966. Pp. xvi + 484. Maps. Bibliog. Index. £4 10s.

Henri Mouhot's Diary. Edited and abridged by Christopher Pym. Kuala Lumpur; London, Oxford University Press, 1960. Pp. xxii + 160. Maps. Illus. Bibliog. Index. 37s. 6d.

Stories by Sir Hugh Clifford. Selected and introduced by William R. Roff. Kuala Lumpur; London, Oford University Press, 1966. Pp. xviii + 225. 42s.

Trente Siècles d'Histoire de Chine. By Roger Lévy. Paris, Presses Universitaires de France, 1967. Pp. 309. Maps. F.10.

Strangers at the Gate. Social Disorders in South China, 1839–1861. By Frederic Wakeman Jr. University of California Press; London, Cambridge University Press, 1967. Pp. 276. Maps. Bibliog. Index. 48s.

Feudal Control in Tokugawa Japan. By Toshio G. Tsukahira. Harvard University Press; London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. 228. Bibliog. Index. Paperback, 28s.

Foundations of Constitutional Government in Modern Japan, 1868–1900. By George Akita. London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. viii + 292. Bibliog. Index. 68s.

Political thought in early Meiji Japan, 1868–1889. By Joseph S. J. Pittau. London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. vi + 250. Bibliog. Index. 56s.

Religion and philosophy

Islamic Reform. The Political and Legal Theories of Muhammad ‘Abduh and Rashid Rida. By Malcolm H. Kerr. University of California Press; London, Cambridge University Press, 1967. Pp. vii + 249. Bibliog. Index. 42s.

Travel

Tibetan Venture. By C. G. Lewis. London, Robert Hale, 1967. Pp. 191. Illus. 21s.

Tribes and Tribulations. By Peter Somerville‐Large. London, Robert Hale, 1967. Pp. 188. Map. Illus. 25s.

Love and Hate in China. By Hans Koningsberger. London, Jonathan Cape, 1967. Pp. 150. 21s.     

Mietrecht,Verbraucherrecht und Verbandsklageverfahren

In einer aktuellen Entscheidung hat der OGH nun schon zum vierten Mal auf Grund einer Verbandsklage nach §§ 28ff KSchG die Verwendung weit verbreiteter Mietvertragsklauseln untersagt. Der Beitrag analysiert ausgew?hlte Apsekte dieses Judikats.     

Postmortem toxicology of drugs of abuse

Conducting toxicology on post-mortem specimens provides a number of very significant challenges to the scientist. The range of additional specimens include tissues such as decomposing blood and other tissues, hair, muscle, fat, lung, and even larvae feeding on the host require special techniques to isolate a foreign substance and allow detection without interference from the matrix. A number of drugs of abuse are unstable in the post-mortem environment that requires careful consideration when trying to interpret their significance. Heroin, morphine glucuronides, cocaine and the benzodiazepines are particularly prone to degradation. Moreover, redistributive process can significantly alter the concentration of drugs, particularly those with a higher tissue concentration than the surrounding blood. The designer amphetamines, methadone and other potent opioids will increase their concentration in blood post-mortem. These processes together with the development of tolerance means that no concentration of a drug of abuse can be interpreted in isolation without a thorough examination of the relevant circumstances and after the conduct of a post-mortem to eliminate or corroborate relevant factors that could impact on the drug concentration and the possible effect of a substance on the body. This article reviews particular toxicological issues associated with the more common drugs of abuse such as the amphetamines, cannabinoids, cocaine, opioids and the benzodiazepines.     

EU-China relations–an assessment by the communications of the European union

This paper is an analysis of the EU policy towards the Peoples’ Republic of China (China); focusing only on various aspects of the Communications of the Commission. The focus will be on three aspects of the relation: politics, economics and cooperation. We will start with a general historical overview of the EU-China relationship, taking the three above mentioned aspects into account. Then we will have a look at the current EU-China policy and the policy of China towards the EU. A further section will analyse the various policy papers of the European Commission with a more in-depth examination of the time references within those policy papers, the overall structure of those papers and the official reasons for their publication.Olaf Griese is also part of the Share-Research network ().

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Validation of nine non-CODIS STR loci for forensic use in a population from Central Poland

The D7S1517, D3S1744, D12S391, D2S1360, D6S474, D8S1132, D5S2500, D10S2325 and D4S236613 are STR loci potentially useful for forensic purposes whose analysis has recently become facilitated by availability of a commercial kit. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the usefulness of these loci for forensic identification in a population of Central Poland. The distribution of alleles of the nine STRs was determined in sample of 353 unrelated individuals born in Central Poland and indices of forensic informativeness were calculated. The studied loci were highly informative and did not show departures from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. For the loci located on the same chromosomes (D2S1360, D3S1744 D4S2366, D5S2500, D7S1517, D8S1132, D12S391) as other loci commonly used for identification purposes (TPOX, D2S1338, D3S1358, FGA, D5S818, D7S820, D8S1179 and D12S391) appropriate pairwise analysis of linkage disequilibrium was performed. In all cases no statistically significant deviation from independence was found. We conclude that the studied STRs are informative and, when necessary, can be used to extend the results obtained with other STRs commonly analyzed for identification purposes, in particular the CODIS set.     

Scent identification evidence in jurisdiction (drawing on the example of judicial practice in Poland)

One of the most significant challenges for contemporary forensic science seems to be research of new sources of physical evidence. Particularly after successful implementation of revolutionary DNA identification law enforcement agencies look for other new and perhaps more efficient techniques.     

Serotonin toxicity involving MDMA (ecstasy) and moclobemide

The use of MDMA (ecstasy) in Australia is a widespread and growing problem, promoting acute toxicity and disease which can lead to premature death in users. We report four cases of fatal serotonin toxicity caused by the combination of MDMA and moclobemide, a reversible MAO-A inhibitor with potent serotonergic activity. Despite the highly reported toxicity of this drug combination, there are very few reports of fatalities attributed to a MDMA and moclobemide interaction. Pathology and toxicology reports, initial police reports and coroners' findings were examined to determine the circumstances of the deaths. Symptoms of some of the four cases as reported by paramedics and medical staff included hyperthermia, hyperkalemia, profuse sweating, twitching and shaking. Two cases involved moclobemide concentrations consistent with common prescribed doses, while the other two cases involved much higher concentrations often associated with toxicity. Three of these cases presented with some form of heart disease.