Kapferer (anthropology, U. of Bergen, Norway) argues that nationalist ideology can distort and skew what are otherwise diverse sociocultural possibilities in potentially disastrous directions for human populations. His case studies are his native Australia since World War I, and Sri Lanka, where the civil war that ended in 2009 was just beginning when he originally wrote this book, and nationalist myths were being dusted off to legitimize positions. He treats Sri Lanka with chapters on Sinhalese nationalism, violence, and the power of hierarchy. The second section looks at Australian nationalism and egalitarian individualism. He adds a new preface to the first edition, published in 1988 by the Smithsonian Institution, and retains the long preface to the paperbound reissue, for which no date is mentioned. This revised edition features new appendices by contributors Rohan Bastin, Barry Morris, David Rampton and Roshan de Silva Wijeyeratne. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)