Tracing the emergence and re-emergence of the agrarian myth in the past century the argument in this book is that at the centre of the discourse about the cultural identity of "otherness/difference" lies the concept of an innate "peasant-ness".

European journal of Development Research
"hard-hitting...the richness of the work, in terms of historical depth, geographical span, and disiciplinary and thematic variety cannot fail to impress."
The European Journal of Development Research
"hard-hitting...the richness of the work, in terms of historical depth, geographical span, and disciplinary and thematic variety cannot fail to impress"
James Overton,Memorial University of Newfoundland
"This is probably the most important book on politics and development which I have read in the last ten years"
The Journal of Development Studies