Development Work in a Period of Political Turmoil. Following the example of Schoorl's preface and introductory chapter, all but two of the remaining 25 contributions portray the multifaceted nature of administrative work. Despite its narrow focus this volume is a rich and extremely readable document that provides a good introduction to the administrative achievements in this period and area. I use the term 'introduction' on purpose as this book only begins to scratch the surface of the history of this much-neglected period. The contributions do not provide any in-depth analysis of the work done in West New Guinea.
Most authors provide anecdotes on problems they dealt with during their appointments.
Nevertheless, the contributions give a good idea of the kind of challenges the average administrator faced and the kind of skills he needed. As the focus of the book is on the work of the administrator it provides but little ethnographic information. The diversity in the book mirrors West New Guinea's variability. Here, the fact that we are given accounts of the same or similar events from different perspectives is very beneficial, even though the authors rarely reference one another's interpretations. Despite the specific focus of the book we are still offered different perspectives as the authors held different administrative ranks, even though these viewpoints are not really placed against an analytical framework.