An alternative analysis of the impact of the 1975 land reforms on peasant land rights, rural inequality and development in Ethiopia's Amhara highlands; essential reading for those engaged in research and policymaking in peasant studies, land and agriculture. The land issue, as in other parts of Africa, dominates life in Ethiopia, where agriculture accounts for 80 per cent of employment, but despite land reform, progress seems out of reach for many. Drawing on extensive ethnographic fieldwork in northern Ethiopia from the 1990s onwards, this is a welcome and overdue local analysis of the impact of the land tenure system in the Amhara highlands. Complementing the macro research of international economists, the authors take a detailed look at the impact of the 1975 land reforms for those in North Shawa, Walo and Gojam regions, where the peasantry depend upon the land not only for their homes, but their livelihoods. The land tenure systemis commonly thought to have been settled by land certification following the reforms, but the contributors reveal that rather than this leading to periodic redistribution and tenure insecurity, farmers here had 'conditional' private ownership within the framework of ultimate state control. The book also reveals the importance of social differentiation, with the peasant farm closely linked to household processes. In rural economies such as Ethiopia, the land question remains critical for future development, and the book ends by drawing out the implications of the authors' research for policymakers, governments and societies in the Global South. SVEIN EGE is Associate Professor in African Studies at the Department of Social Anthropology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim. His published works include The Promised Land: The Amhara land redistribution of 1997 (1997).

Through nine ethnographic case-studies, Edges of Global Transformation explores situations where global transformations associated with neoliberalism meet local realities. The "edge" of transformation is characterized by uncertainty, as old patterns are consumed and new formed. The nine case studies from Africa, Europe and the Middle East shed light on how uncertainty plays an inevitable and essential role in the grey zone between macro-transformations and local responses. Despite the tremendous difference in precariousness between these cases, each contributor explores ways in which transformations are conceived and acted upon within the space of possibility that is opened and apprehended locally. The role of uncertainty as an active force is explored throughout the book. While in some cases, uncertainty has a clear restricting effect; other cases illustrate its potential as a productive force. As a contribution to understanding the dynamic of the local realities of global change, the book will be valuable reading for anyone interested in globalization and the neoliberal world order.

This paper tells the story of four families in Gata in South Walo, a Muslim community in rural Ethiopia with a long history. It depicts their lives during a recent period of drought and famine, where the effects of the killer famine of 1984 are still felt. The story provides a rare glimpse of the human suffering behind the grim statistics of poverty and famine in the country. The stories tell of their trading activities and links with the district town, providing insights into the relationships, tensions, and bonds of reciprocity between urban and rural communities. Harald Aspen is Associate Professor of social anthropology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.