In this excellent study, Zaïrean and American scholars look at African development issues from one-admittedly extreme-case. Scrutinizing the origins of Zaïre's economic debacle, the role of international actors and the evolution of the economy as peasants try to retreat from state control, they only occasionally grapple with prescription. Though the book's overall approach is iconoclastic regarding the current advocacy of "privatization," the authors have nothing to say about state reform and a good deal of emphasis falls on improving the economic chances of the peasant.