Peasants in History. Essays in honour of Daniel Thorner (Book).

The article discusses the book "Peasants in History: Essays in Honor of Daniel Thorner," edited by E.J. Hobsbawm, W. Kulla, A. Mitra, K. N. Raj and I. Sachs. The article points out that the book is an impressive memorial to Daniel Thorner, a prolific scholar in the distinction of the contributors and the wide range of issues, which have been taken to be representative of Thorner's concerns. The collection is an interesting reflection not only of Thorner's interests, but also of the current state of the literature on peasants. The book is divided into different sections and the first section of the book contains papers relating to European peasantries. The second section focuses on India and Asia and the third section raises policy issues relating to economic development. Themes of peasants and capitalism, differentiation amongst the peasantry, reform, and peasants and socialism are also highlighted in the book. The book features the elimination of the peasantry in Scotland, the persistence of magnetization amongst Polish peasants during the second serfdom, the changing character of Indian villages and the long-term impact of land reform on peasants and landlords.