Book excerpt: The outbreaks and collective violence arising from the tensions existing within society have long been themes in the study of British social history. This book, first published in 1983, attempts to survey the whole range of these rural riots, to compare and contrast them, and to draw general conclusions. Seventy-five maps are included in this volume, each with an accompanying commentary written by an authority on the particular subject. Taken together, the maps show how the distribution of protest changed over time, how particular forms of protest – riots connected with land, with food and with labour – altered as Britain developed from a predominantly feudal to a prominently capitalist society. This title will be of interest to students of history.