When searching for a reader in historical archaeology this volume is the place to start. Charles Orser has collected some fine examples of historical archaeology for this publication that spans over a decade of research. They introduc emethod, theory, the underlying philosophical issues behind theory, and the appli­cation of all of these to archaeological data sets of the historic period.

The volume is organized thematically into six sections each with its own introduction. In all there are twenty chapters and Orser's introduction to the volume. The first and final sections offer perspectives on the state of historical archaeology as an endeavor, both in the United States and abroad. The remainder of the volume presents case studies in several categories. Though these categories seem somewhat arbitrary given the breadth of the material covered, they do serve to juxtapose articles facilitating an appreciation for the complementarity of varied approaches.