Part of the series, "Indigenous Peoples of the World," this text engages the reader with a wealth of interesting detail and occasional black and white photographs. The sections are short and conversational in tone, moving back and forth to include information on several different groups of people in Indonesia. The book draws from many sources, relying primarily on Western observers' impressions of history, the peoples of Indonesia, and their culture. Chapters are creatively named, and the sections on government and history are satisfactorily, but not overly, anchored with dates, places and names. However, the early chapters are confusing as the text describes both ancient peoples and modern peoples indiscriminately. What appear to be current photographs, for example, have captions that refer to some unidentified time in history. Even though there are many difficult words and complex ideas, children should find the book interesting for its own sake and informative for research projects. 2004, Lucent Books, Ages 9 to 12.