Recognizing that no sweeping theory on the political role of the urban masses-though there have been many-will fit the varying facts and situations in the cities of Asia, Africa and Latin America, Joan Nelson sets out to assemble some of the disparate pieces of this "large puzzle." The book is the result of the labor of a decade, and considers such factors as class consciousness, traditional social relations, ethnic politics, and movements of reform and violent revolution. It is a good start toward understanding a problem that will have great international as well as national and local significance in the future.