There is no single volume that encompasses an integrated social and cultural history of the S�mi people from the Nordic countries and northwestern Russia. Neil Kent's book fills this lacuna. In the first instance, he considers how the S�mi homeland is defined: its geography, climate, and early contact with other peoples. He then moves on to its early chronicles and the onset of colonisation, which changed S�mi life profoundly over the last millennium. Thereafter, the nature of S�mi ethnicity is examined, in the context of the peoples among whom the S�mi increasingly lived, as well as the growing intrusions of the states who claimed sovereignty over them. The Soviet gulag, the Lapland War and increasing urbanisation all impacted upon S�mi life. Religion, too, played an important role from pre-historic times, with their pantheon of gods and sacred sites, to their Christianisation. In the late twentieth century there has been an increasing symbiosis of ancient S�mi spiritual practice with Christianity. Recently the intrusions of the logging and nuclear industries, as well as tourism have come to redefine S�mi society and culture. Even the meaning of who exactly is a S�mi is scrutinised, at a time when some intermarry and yet return to S�mi, where their children maintain their S�mi identity.