Easily the best book ever written on Indonesia's experiment with liberal democracy in the 1950s. Required reading to understand Indonesia's current struggle to re-establish a democratic system of government after 35 years of authoritarianism under Soekarno and Soeharto. The recent focus on militant Islam after the Bali bombings of October 2002 is put in a valuable historical perspective. The publishers would perform a valuable service by reissuing this outstanding work of scholarship.