Recent Books else was considered an affront." In Caribbean Rum, anthropologist Smith adds knowledgeably to the growing body of commodity-based histories, using rum to elucidate, in this case, the history of the Caribbean. He takes us on a journey beginning with the use of alcohol in in digenous Carib religious rituals, continuing through the impact of the American Revolution on British Caribbean rum makers (very negative), and moving on to more contemporary temperance move ments. Depending on the sociohistorical context and the quantities consumed, rum can be enslaving or empowering, a symbol of colonialism or nationalism, commonplace or exotic, killer or elixir, sacred or profane. No single thesis unites Smith's entertaining narratives, although it is abundantly clear that the sugar and rum industries have repeatedly used political leverage and trade preferences-and claims of medicinal virtues-to win mar ket shares from brandy, whisky, and gin. [158] FOREIGN AFFAIRS-Volume8SNo.z All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Recent Books He discounts the importance of the Soviet legacy, ethnic diversity, public intolerance, and the Orthodox Church. Fish acknowl edges that (statistical) linear regression analysis risks brushing over critical par ticularities and discontinuities, and as compensation he offers a clean analytic design, with carefully specified criteria, much well-exploited data, a basis for pre diction, and a fair future test for proving him right or wrong. CentralAsia's Second Chance. BY MARTHA BRILL OLCOTT. Carnegie Endowme-nt for International Peace, 2005,389 pp.