Firstly it has to be said that this book was sponsored by the Government of Sarawak - as Runciman acknowledges. But I suspect his interest in writing this book was not financial, but more likely a fascination with the Brooke family and with Sarawak itself. Runciman, somewhat of an eccentric himself may have been drawn to the story of James Brooke and his successors, eccentrics themselves on the very edge of the British Empire in northern Borneo.

The story itself is well told, the era prior from the mid 1800's through to World War II is dealt with in fine detail, but also with a panoramic view which incorporates not only British colonial policies, but also the doings of the many ethnic groups within Sarawak and their relations with each other. You can't but feel that been given probably as good and balanced an account of those days as is possible to contain within one book, but at the same time there's a certain lack of connectedness.

Partly that's due to it being concluded in 1960, and partly it's down to Runciman's slightly dry style of writing. He doesn't miss much of the infighting and bitterness involved in the family's rule of Sarawak, but he manages to report it with a kind of distant air. It's almost as if he's thinking, well yes this is bad, but things were a lot worse in ancient Byzantium. British colonial rule eventually subsumed Sarawak, and then of course the State of Malaysia - the inevitable march of history. But for a view inside part of that march to destiny you could say that Runciman has done a workmanlike job. Recommended for those with an interest in this area. An interesting adjunct to the biography of Tom Harrison, 'The Most Offending Soul Alive'. ( )