The Marwaris: From Traders to Industrialists. By Thomas A. Timberg. New Delhi: Vikas, 1979. vi, 176 pp. Appendixes, Bibliography, Glossary, Index. $15.95. (Distributed by Advent Books, New York.)

BooK REvIEWs-SouTH AstA land remained that of the peasant (pp. 63-64). Here, as elsewhere in the study, the author's tendency is to collapse his findings into such neat but simple polarities as tradition and modernity. Similar problems vitiate his use of the concept of the peasant household, which is described in the introduction as central to his thesis. But the concept is never fully developed and seems to mean little more than peasant families who are engaged in subsistence agriculture and, by definition, either impervious to, or pitted against, the mechanisms of the market. When Swarczberg finally elaborates on the concept in the conclusion (chap. 5), he is content ro cull long quotes from Karl Polanyi and other authorities. A. V. Chayanov's theory of peasant economy crops up belatedly in this section, too lace to supply a framework of analysis for viewing the wider economic and social articulations of the peasant household. Alas, The North Indian Peasant Goes to Market does not live up to its title. A. y ANG University of Utah ANAND The Marwaris: From Traders to Industrialists. By THOMAS A. T1MBERG. New Delhi: Vikas, 1979. vi, 176 pp. Appendixes, Bibliography, Glossary, Index. $15. 95. (Distributed by Advent Books, New York.) The Marwaris are emigrant businessmen from Rajasthan and have contributed significantly to India's economic development. For this book, Thomas Timberg did extensive research in India on the Marwaris. In addition to public and English language materials, he used privately held family and business records, Gujarati and Hindi publications, and interviewed relevant informants. The book is often interest- ing and informative, but it is also immensely frustrating. There are three major problems with this book. One is its poor organization and editing, perhaps stemming from its origin as a Ph.D. thesis. Historical themes are prominent- the nineteenth-century migrations. of Marwari firms from Rajasthan, their relationships with various political and economic powers, their changing investment patterns over time-but the author's sense of chronology is hazy. The disorderly presentation of historical data prevents the reader from, for example, following the development of an argument about traditional Marwari family firms and their adaptability to the modern economy, but it is not clear that Timberg is making such an argument. That brings us to the second major problem-the lack of an argument and the failure co use the data co test anything. Many of the elements for hypothesis testing are present: significant issues and a review of the social science literature on them co date (entrepreneurship, migration theory); detailed census data on Marwari places of origin and settlement; case studies of particularly successful great firms. But these elements are not linked together to address a problem. They are simply presented, an example of what a colleague calls the suitcase method of doing Indian history-the collection of lots of fascinating material in India and its unpacking, more or less as collected, on arrival home. Unfortunately, even the usual benefits of the suitcase method - a sound chronology and the reproduction of detailed, reliable information chat others can use-are denied us because of the third major problem with this book. The data and