men and women grow old and die. Moreover,in times of illness and other misfortunepeople sometimes question the diagnosis of theng'anga (traditional doctor). Where this is thecase the patient and his social group can seeka second opinion.The section dealing with the urban Shonaand social change is rather thin and generallyunsatisfactory. Here I have two main criticisms.The first concerns the manner in which Gel-fand carried out his surveys. We are not toldhow he obtained his samples of informantsand whether these were representative samples.Secondly, he could have strengthened thissection by drawing from other urban studiesthat have been done in recent years. Forexample, the two studies by P. Stopforth(Survey of Highfield African Township; TwoAspects of Social Change, Highfield AfricanTownship Salisbury, Salisbury, University ofRhodesia, Department of Sociology OccasionalPapers Nos. 6 and 7, 1971, 1972) would havegreatly enriched Gelfand's analysis of kinshipUniversity of Rhodesiaand marriage in modern Shona society.After examining the various aspects ofShona culture Gelfand concludes that thereare many aspects of Shona culture that aregood: "Africa has something to offer theworld in human behaviour and this the Shonaman and woman can give by their fine example.'He argues that means must be found of blend-ing these Shona cultural aspects with what theWest has brought to Mashonaland.Although the book is impressionistic inparts, controversial in others, and not alwaysfactually accurate, it cannot be ignored bystudents of Shona society. Whether or not theconclusions drawn are accepted, the book Isbound to find its way into footnotes for manyyears to come. The study will be all the morevaluable if it succeeds in provoking others toexamine with greater precision aspects and thefunctioning of the Shona society. One can onlyagree with Gelfand that as many aspects ofShona culture as possible must be recordednow for the use of future generations.G. L. CHAVUNDUKAThe Formation of Christian Communities In the Rural Area. By P. Calvin. Gwelo, Mambo Press,1972, Occasional Papers : Missio-Pastoral Series No. 1, 48 pp. RhS0,40,This brief work is Intended as a guide andstimulus to Christian ministers working in Rho-desia's Tribal Trust Lands. The author, both aRoman Catholic priest and a doctor in socialanthropology, makes available to his mission-ary colleagues the insights gained from hisacademic training and his work in the field.The first part of the booklet deals with theconcept of 'community' and with the principalfeatures of traditional Shona communities;these can provide a natural basis for the for-mation of newer Christian communities. Herethe author shows a thorough grasp of his sub-University of Rhodesiajeet expressed with a clarity that is all toooften lacking in the writings of academics.The second part of the work is prescriptiverather than descriptive. The author presents anumber of practical suggestions on how minis-ters can encourage the growth of specificallyChristian communities. These are plausiblyargued and presumably reflect the author's ex-perience in missionary work, though no evid-ence is presented on how the suggestions haveworked out in practice.The work can be well recommended to theChristian ministers for whom it is intended.M. F. C. BOURDILLONRhodesia : Little White Island. By J. Parker. London, Pitman. 1972, viii. 166 pp. £2,00.The Might to Say No, By J. Todd. London, Sidgwick and Jackson, 1972, 200 pp. £0,40.In Camera ; Secret Justice in Rhodesia. By P. Niesewand. London, Weidenfeld and Nicolson,1973, 209 pp. £2,50.The Real Case for Rhodesia. Bv C. Chesterton, Honeydew (Tvl), Janssonius & Heyns, [1973] 219pp. Rh$l,95.None of these books is written in a dis-interested or detached manner. The first threeIn fact recount the unpleasant experiences oftheir authors in Rhodesia. Parker and Niese-wand were both journalists who fell foul ofthe Official Secrets Act and were prosecuted.103