This collection of 30 articles and papers by the retired opposition politician and former State Secretary of Sarawak, East Malaysia, relate to the background and people of Kalaka in the west of the country.  The author has a thorough personal knowledge of the Malay people of the area and offers many sidelights and much information on their present poverty and deprivation.  Photographs highlight many of the facts discussed.  The varied insights given on the beliefs, social groupings, vocabulary customary laws, economics and habits of these rural people for a valuable resource for planners and administrators as well as a voyage of discovery for the general reader.