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746 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [93,1991] development strategies that provide sustained benefits to local populations. Its greatest strength lies in its analysis of the social orga- nizations and the strategies villagers initiate to maintain their subsistence activities. This work also provides an excellent account of the forces ofchange and continuity in rural Alaska Native communities. Winds of Change: Women in Northwest Commercial Fishing. Charlene J. Allison, Sue- Allen Jacobs, and Mary A . Porter. Seattle: Uni- versity of Washington Press, 1989. 248 pp. $25.00 (cloth). E. PAUL DURRENBERGER University of Iowa Washington State’s Sea Grant office is to be congratulated for diverting some ofits funds to partially support 15 months of this four-year study to illuminate the contributions of women in the fisheries of the Northwestern United States and Alaska. Perhaps this agency is beginning to recognize that the so- cial sciences and history are no less important to the understanding of fisheries than biology, that there is something more to fisheries than fish. This book is a step toward a much- needed corrective to the fact that “fisheries managers and regulators constitute perhaps the most isolated sector of the industry” (p. mi). The editors explicate their methodologies carefully. Aware of the limitations of life-his- tory approaches, they provide a concise his- torical introduction and summary to contex- tualize this collection of transcriptions of ten biographical interviews with women that il- lustrate their overlapping roles in fish process- ing, management, political action, family and independent businesses, and their collabora- tion in household economies with husbands who are fishermen or fisheries workers. The biographical sketches suggest how individuals think about and act in various roles in house- hold production units, firms, and regulatory agencies enmeshed in the economic and polit- ical complexities of a regional fishery, and re- veal women’s contributions to the industry. We hear about the allocation of resources to American Indians by the Boldt decision of 1974 and other issues from a Tulalip woman fisheries manager, from a Tulalip woman fish- erman (as women who fish in this area are known), from women fishermen and women of European descent with fisherman husbands, and from an Alaskan Russian-Aleut woman married to a Danish fish-industry worker. We listen to sport-charter as well as commercial fishermen. We learn about processing from a woman worker and a worker-manager. The first-person narratives provide unique insight into differences in fishing gear, species fished, processing practices and facilities, and into other details of the fishery. Interviewers brought out relationships with parents, teach- ers, siblings, spouses, employers, employees, children, and others to elucidate the impor- tance of various constructions of gender in di- verse situations. It is clear that no fishermen are stereotypi- cally daring and adventurous entrepreneurs, but all are instead “bound by regulations where, when, and with what gear they may fish,” to such an extent that there are few choices (p. xxxix). The editors and their infor- mants show that a fishery is not just a popu- lation of fish, or individuals in their boats, but a set ofcomplex political, social, and economic systems that span regions and countries and reach far inland for consumers and political determinants. The narratives raise a number of questions for future analysis. The conclusion identifies common themes and issues of contemporary American constructions of gender regarding authority, expertise, political participation, and autonomy. In calling attention to a signif- icant dimension of the industry, the book does much to unshroud the women in this and other fisheries and make them visible. It is a valuable addition to the growing literature of maritime anthropology and the study of women and gender. District Leaders: A Political Ethnography. Rachel Sady. Political Cultures (Aaron Wildav- sky, series ed.). Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1990. 220 pp. $35.00 (paper). JACK WEATHERFORD Macalester College District Leaders analyzes local politics within the Democratic party of Greenburgh in New York’s Westchester County. It presents a long-term study of Democratic district lead- ers, of whom the author was one for many years. The district leaders bear responsibility for turning out the registered Democrats on election day, and they have the secondary job of representing the concerns of the people in their area to the party. They are “the people who make up the lowest layer ofelected party office holders,” and they are the ones closest to the voters (p. 1). Before giving the results of her participant- observation research, the author presents a

Social/Cultural Anthropology: District Leaders: A Political Ethnography. Rachel Sady

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Page 1: Social/Cultural Anthropology: District Leaders: A Political Ethnography. Rachel Sady

746 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [93,1991]

development strategies that provide sustained benefits to local populations. I ts greatest strength lies in its analysis of the social orga- nizations and the strategies villagers initiate to maintain their subsistence activities. This work also provides an excellent account of the forces ofchange and continuity in rural Alaska Native communities.

Winds of Change: Women in Northwest Commercial Fishing. Charlene J . Allison, Sue- Allen Jacobs, and Mary A . Porter. Seattle: Uni- versity of Washington Press, 1989. 248 pp. $25.00 (cloth).

E. PAUL DURRENBERGER University of Iowa

Washington State’s Sea Grant office is to be congratulated for diverting some ofits funds to partially support 15 months of this four-year study to illuminate the contr ibut ions of women in the fisheries of the Northwestern United States a n d Alaska. Perhaps this agency is beginning to recognize that the so- cial sciences and history are no less important to the understanding of fisheries than biology, that there is something more to fisheries than fish. T h i s book is a s tep toward a much- needed corrective to the fact that “fisheries managers and regulators constitute perhaps the most isolated sector of the industry” (p. mi).

The editors explicate their methodologies carefully. Aware of the limitations of life-his- tory approaches, they provide a concise his- torical introduction and summary to contex- tualize this collection of transcriptions of ten biographical interviews with women that il- lustrate their overlapping roles in fish process- ing, management, political action, family and independent businesses, and their collabora- tion in household economies with husbands who are fishermen or fisheries workers. The biographical sketches suggest how individuals think about and act in various roles in house- hold production units, firms, and regulatory agencies enmeshed in the economic and polit- ical complexities of a regional fishery, and re- veal women’s contributions to the industry.

We hear about the allocation of resources to American Indians by the Boldt decision of 1974 and other issues from a Tulalip woman fisheries manager, from a Tulalip woman fish- erman (as women who fish in this area are known), from women fishermen and women of European descent with fisherman husbands, and from an Alaskan Russian-Aleut woman married to a Danish fish-industry worker. We

listen to sport-charter as well as commercial fishermen. We learn about processing from a woman worker and a worker-manager. The first-person narratives provide unique insight into differences in fishing gear, species fished, processing practices and facilities, and into o ther detai ls of the fishery. Interviewers brought out relationships with parents, teach- ers, siblings, spouses, employers, employees, children, and others to elucidate the impor- tance of various constructions of gender in di- verse situations.

I t is clear that no fishermen are stereotypi- cally daring and adventurous entrepreneurs, but all a re instead “bound by regulations where, when, and with what gear they may fish,” to such an extent that there are few choices (p. xxxix). The editors and their infor- mants show that a fishery is not just a popu- lation of fish, or individuals in their boats, but a set ofcomplex political, social, and economic systems that span regions and countries and reach far inland for consumers and political determinants.

The narratives raise a number of questions for future analysis. The conclusion identifies common themes and issues of contemporary American constructions of gender regarding authority, expertise, political participation, and autonomy. In calling attention to a signif- icant dimension of the industry, the book does much to unshroud the women in this a n d other fisheries and make them visible. It is a valuable addition to the growing literature of mari t ime anthropology a n d the s tudy of women and gender.

District Leaders: A Political Ethnography. Rachel Sady. Political Cultures (Aaron Wildav- sky, series ed.). Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1990. 220 pp. $35.00 (paper).

JACK WEATHERFORD Macalester College

District Leaders analyzes local politics within the Democratic party of Greenburgh in New York’s Westchester County. I t presents a long-term study of Democratic district lead- ers, of whom the author was one for many years. The district leaders bear responsibility for turning out the registered Democrats on election day, and they have the secondary job of representing the concerns of the people in their area to the party. They are “the people who make up the lowest layer ofelected party office holders,” and they are the ones closest to the voters (p. 1).

Before giving the results of her participant- observation research, the author presents a

Page 2: Social/Cultural Anthropology: District Leaders: A Political Ethnography. Rachel Sady

SOCIALICULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY 747

strong case for the importance of studying lo- cal politics in our own society. In so doing, she made the first chapter into a thorough sum- mary of the last generation of developments within political anthropology. This theoretical overview offers a valuable teaching tool for anyone interested in the recent history of po- litical anthropology.

The second chapter gives an analysis of the political field in Greenburgh by explaining the town’s status within the political structure of New York and Westchester County. Sady then explains the role of district leaders, who face an unusual political situation in that the “overwhelming number of their constituents do not have any idea that the position exists, never mind who fills it” (p. 34).

The third chapter examines the role of the 47 district leaders within the Democratic party and within the election process, where they enact their most important duties. Sady contrasts their formal duties as outlined in the Democratic District Lcadcrs Handbook with the job descriptions generated in interviews with the leaders.

The heart of the book comes in the fourth through sixth chapters, which examine the views of the district leaders toward power and their individual strategies for exercising it. Sady analyzes the process of choosing candi- dates and conducting campaigns, and she ex- amines the factional politics of class and eth- nicity within the party and the community. Through short but cogent case studies, Sady makes one of the most thorough examinations of grassroots American politics in the anthro- pological literature.

Between chapters, Sady has inserted bio- graphical sketches of district leaders. The sketches make a personalized portrait from the abstractions and summary data presented in the study, and they offer a perspective on the gender, age, class, education, and ethnicity of the leaders.

District Leaders is “people-centered, as con- trasted with studies focusing on theoretical approaches and models” (p. 168), but Sady applies her findings to a wide range of theories and ideas within political anthropology. By presenting specific cases along with the bio- graphical background of the actors, she found that serving as district leader did not provide a boost to higher office nor did it give the leader access to a large patronage system. The lack of obvious rewards raised the question of what motivated these people to serve. One of the intriguing suggestions by Sady is that the acquisition and exercise of power is but one of a set of motivations that may underlie political work. Sady finds in some of her subjects an ob-

ligation to service that borders on altruism and is rarely accepted in the anthropological literature as much more than rhetoric or cam- ouflage for personal gain.

In contrast to the pessimistic tone in many scholarly and journalistic accounts of the American electoral process in recent decades, District Leaders offers an optimistic analysis that still finds tremendous strength in the party system. In writing this book Sady has presented an important study for anyone who needs to understand politics at its most local level in the United States.

The Cocaine Kids: The Inside Story of a Teenage Drug Ring. Terry Williams. Read- ing, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1989. 156 pp. $16.95 (cloth).

DALLAS L. BROWNE York College, CUNY

Lives limited and affected by poverty, crime, fear, and lack ofopportunity are vividly described by sociologist Terry Williams in his book The Cocaine Kids. This book tells us how some ghetto youth attempt to realize the American dream of material success, even though society has not given them access to the education and work opportunities that usually open such doors. Williams takes us in- side the lives of eight young people, seven im- migran ts from the Dominican Republic and one African American, who live in the Wash- ington Heights section of Manhattan, just north of Harlem. He spent four years “hang- ing out” with these youths and conducting ex- tensive interviews with them on topics related to drugs and drug dealing.

Complex issues of gender, class, race, and ethnicity, though implicit in the book, are not analyzed or addressed directly. Williams takes us on a descriptive tour ofan urban adolescent drug subculture, relying on the reader to draw insight from his vivid portrayals. This book pulsates with the raw, naked energy of the streets-wild and sassy. The young men Wil- liams talked to are bold, defiant, and rebel- lious. Drug dealing appears to offer these youths a means of transcending the limitations of their immediate life circumstances.

This book provides an introduction to the segment of the underground economy that flourishes by absorbing legions of unemployed youth who feel barred from mainstream em- ployment. Peter Letkemann’s book, Crime as Work (Prentice-Hall, 1973), discusses crime as an alternative to legitimate employment. Max, the leader of the “crew,” or gang, of co-