This book does not follow the current North American fashion of writing with the aid of a pair of scissors and a glue-pol. It is not a set of "readings" in the sense that it makes available in a single volume numerous items published previously elsewhere: all of the contributions were originally written for inclusion in these Papers. This fact notwithstanding, the essays do not follow any one theme, nor are they given unity by a shared frame of reference. Each author dealt with some aspect of the 1962 election without any concern with what was being attempted by the others. As a result, the Papers do not pretend to give a complete and well-rounded account of the 1962 contest.

When the careful and conscientious reader has put down the Papers he will have within his grasp a sort of do-it-yourself kit containing the materials out of which several election theories can be constructed . The authors hope that by unpacking and displaying the kit, they will have tempted many readers into trying to put some of the pieces together with the help of such additional equipment as they have acquired in their own observations of Canadian elections.

JOHN MEISEL, a graduate of the University of Toronto and the University of London, is a member of the Department of Political and Economic Science, Queen’s University, and is at present directing a research project sponsored by the Canadian Social Science Research Council on decision-making and the structure of power in Canada

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