Elites has been adapted from papers presented by a group of anthropol- ogists at a seminar on elite studies in 1979. The contributors seek to

define the concept of elites and to search for a theory or theories of elite recruitment, behavior, and significance. Their efforts, however, have not been particularly fruitful. The volume brings us no nearer either to a usable definition or to a theory of elites. Its chief value lies in its empirical contributions-modest but interesting evidence concerning the historical settings of the pieces presented in a curiously journalistic style. As with all collections, the essays vary in quality. The table of contents reveals the diversity of the book's themes. Marcus provides a number of introductory chapters that-in occasionally jarring, jargonfilled prose-attempt to set forth the problem, review the literature (bypassing most works by historians), and offer some unifying generalizations, which unfortunately remain thin and unconvincing. Much more satisfying is his later chapter, "The Fiduciary Role in American Family Dynasties and their Institutional Legacy." After a historical introduction that relies heavily on Hall's brilliant and original doctoral dissertation, Marcus offers a slim but useful description of how one fiduciary mediated between the head of a Texas family and its other members. Ronald Cohen writes on "Elite Theory and the Formation of Elites among the Bura Intellectuals of Nigeria." F. G. Bailey discusses "The Ordered World of the [British] University Administrator." Carol J. Greenhouse's "Being and Doing: Competing Concepts of Elite Status in an American Suburb" is not about white-collar individuals in Westchester but about Baptists and some businessmen in a small Georgia