<P>Originally published in 1977, and reprinted several tiems since, Contact and Cnoflict remains an invaluable account of the profound impact that white settlement had on Native-European relations in British Columbia after the fur trade ended. Robin Fisher argues that the fur trade had a limited effect on the cultures of Native people. Both Natives and Europeans were involved in a mutually beneficial economic system, and there was no incentive for non-Native fur traders to alter radically the Native social system. With the passing of the fur trade in 1858, however, and the beginning of white settlement, what has been a reciporcal system between the two civilizations became a pattern of white dominance.</P><P>The second edition includes a preface in which the author re-examines his original arguments, surveys the literature since 1977, and comments on directions for new research. The original edition of the book was published at a time when there was relatively little written by historians on the subject. Today, <I>Contact and Conflict</I> is still widely used by scholars and students, and its arguments have endured, yielding new insights into the role of Native people in the history of British Columbia.</P>