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isolationist history, written by a man who takes England and Englishness for granted. One suspects that the next generation of historians will question traditional English values and speculate about Britain's changing place in the world. Perhaps this book is one of the last of its type. It certainly is one of the greatest. ANTHONY KING Essex AGRICULTURAL POLICY IN BRITAIN: Selected Papers of E. F. Nash. Edited by Gavin McCrone and E. A. Attwood. University of Wales Press, Cardiff, 1965. Pp. 168. 21s. This volume is a tribute to the late Professor of Agricultural Economics at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, who, until his death in 1962, was the leading authority on economic aspects of British agricultural policy. It consists of a selection of nine papers, all of which are concerned with policy, and the economic conditions affecting farming in the period 1947 to 1962. The basic approach of many of the papers is a critical examination of the economic foundations of post-war agricultural policy, and a rigorous analysis of the role of agriculture in the national economy. Professor Nash gives a concise and lucid explanation for the persistent tendency of farm incomes to lag behind those in other sectors of the economy, and provides an authoritative evaluation of the economic justification and implications of attempting to raise farmers' remuneration by various protective measures. His major conclusion is that the methods of supporting agri- culture have been inappropriate and that the amount of support has been excessive. He emphasizes in particular that subsidies and grants have tended to prolong the separate existence of basically uneconomic holdings and prevented the release of scarce manpower to other sectors of the economy. In order to increase agricultural efficiency and make farming more competitive, he advocates the restoration of free markets and a reorganisation of the structure of the industry on the basis of larger holdings. When they were first put forward, such ideas invariably caused a great stir in agricultural circles, but this, as the editors point out in their introduction, 'was prompted more often by emotion than by hard reasoning', and 'no one attempted in any systematic way to challenge his arguments'. Professor Nash's presentation of statistics in support of the policies which he advocates is an object lesson in the judicious use of empirical data. The trends in the world demand and supply situation for agricultural products are analysed, and useful information is provided on the sources of Britain's food supplies and on the structure of farming in various