This ambitious volume examines the complex histories of rice in the early modern and modem periods. Rice is not only a plant but also a crop, a commodity, and a food, and the fifteen essays in the volume trace patterns of rice cultivation and consumption throughout much of the world. More specifically, the book explores what Francesca Bray calls the "local-global articulations" (4) of the political, economic, cultural. scientific, environmental, and biological forces that have shaped rice and its roles in society. This rich and wide-ranging analysis reflects the diverse scholarly back grounds of the volume's contributors, whose areas of study range from East and Southeast Asia to Africa and the Americas.
