Collected works justify themselves when they address important subjects with a breadth and depth that no single author could bring. Here is a case in point. A cast of experts covers everything from economic reform in this crucial and understudied region of Russia to the detailed circumstances of agriculture, energy, and the fishing industry, from the geostrategic stakes and role of key players such as China to the specifics of military reform and defense conversion. All of these topics have a particular importance in the Russian Far East. The individual chapters are uniformly rich and informative, and the overall product of this well-designed book is a coherent and comprehensive analysis of a part of Russia that jangles Moscow's nerves without producing many answers.
