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While he mentions human rights abuses, Selth could have devoted a chapter or at least a section on widespread allegations of military abuses perpetrated during counter-insurgency campaigns and "nation building tasks." Routine use of rape, forced relocations, the use of porters to overcome poor logistics, and extermination squads in Karen State are all evidence that the military regularly engages in deplorable tactics to fulfill its aims. For such a comprehensive book this is a notable absence, and it would have provided an account of how the military operates on a daily basis. In his final analysis, Selth argues that the military, both for its sake and the country, must continue the reforms begun with its expansion. The concluding chapter on the Tatmadaw in a democracy is a valuable contribution to what a post-SPDC landscape would look like. The march to obtain a credible, professional military must eventually include political reforms that remove the institution from the apex of power. Selth’s book provides the most sober and comprehensive contribution to the dilemma of regime transition in Burma by analysing the institution that will probably, eventually, engineer it. David Scott Mathieson is a doctoral student at the Australian National University, in Canberra.