This collection which represents a move toward a better understanding of the ancient people's attempts at situating economic life within particular societies. Some of the topics covered include a social and economical analysis of ancient, pre-State Greece; of the classical Maya; the Maori women and slaves; of rural India; rural Kentucky; and of pre-industrial Japan.

Since the Second World War interest in the active by Italian geophysicists; studies of ground deform volcano Mount Etna, in Sicily, has been steadily ation by British and Italian groups; measurements increasing. This interest has not been restricted of microgravity changes particularly by a British to Italy, and scientists from Belgium, France, group; endeavours to improve analytical tech Germany, the United States and the United King niques for gases and sublimates by French and also dom have played a part in volcanological studies. Italian and British workers; pioneering work on In 1972 much of this work was drawn together at a rheology of lavas and growth of lava fields by discussion meeting convened by the Royal Society British scientists; and greatly improved surveil of London and attended by representatives of most lance of activity, notably that occurring in the summit region. of the projects that were being conducted on Etna. The meeting served to draw together current It is a principal aim of this book to synthesize the knowledge of Etna, especially information derived results of these many different studies into a more during the 1971 flank eruption, and also to point complete understanding of the volcano. Inevitably out deficiencies in knowledge and methods of the coverage is somewhat uneven; some fields of approach to investigating the volcano. In his study have been researched more thoroughly than opening statement to the meeting Professor A. others."

Johanne Kepler's "Harmonice mundi" was planned in 1599 as a sequel to the "Mysterium cosmographicum." In 1618 Kepler discovered the third law of planetary motion relating to the periodic times of the planets to their mean distances from the sun - a crowning achievement that enabled him to bring the "Harmonice mundi" to completeion. The authors have presented and interpreted Kepler's Latin text to readers of English, by putting it into "the kind of clear but earnest language which we suppose Kepler would have used if he had been writing today."