Years of research must have gone into this mammoth and costly volume on the society and politics of Iraq. The author concedes that the detail may seem excessive, but the very quantity of information gives the book inestimable value as a source. It contains, in what is really a book in itself, the most detailed history of the Iraqi Communist Party, or any Middle East Communist party, available. Particularly for the critical years surrounding the revolution of 1958 and its aftermath the author throws much light on the Communists' role and stresses their formidable popular appeal.