It is difficult to overstate the value of authoritative and comprehensive compilations of state practice, and anyone who has borne the burden of hours of searching through libraries and waited in vain for replies from foreign embassies in the quest for original documents on the Law of the Sea will feel greatly indebted to Mr Smith for this monumental study.

The book contains the texts of EEZ law, translated into English, from 73 countries, including all those in his list of EEZ claims with the single exception of Nauru (which has a 200-mile fishery zone under a law of 1978, and may have been included as an EEZ claimant by oversight), together with a number of analogous special claims. Exclusive fishery zones simpliciter, such as the 1976 United Kingdom legislation, have not been included. Only the main statutes are reproduced, so that, for example, the 1985 Soviet Decree on pollution prevention in the EEZ, which implements the broad principles of the 1984 Decree on the Economic Zone of the USSR (included in this collection), is not reproduced. Given the bulk and unaccessibility of such detailed implementing measures, this is a sensible compromise, furnishing readers with a handy collection of the most important texts without compelling them to pay for the much larger task of publishing subsidiary legislation.

The book contains an incisive 40-page introduction, reviewing the development of state practice in EEZ claims and analysing the variations in national claims. This extremely useful study, substantially the same as the Geographic Research No. 20—National Maritime Claims: 1958–85 published by the United States Department of State, Office of the Geographer, adds greatly to the value of the work.

Mr Smith’s work will undoubtedly be accepted as the definitive compilation of EEZ claims, and it is likely that this status will endure for some time, given the relatively small number of states which are likely to produce EEZ legislation of substantial international significance in the next few years. However, the price of the book is likely to deter many potential purchasers (particularly those already subscribing to United Nations and unofficial collections of materials on the Law of the Sea). This would be a pity, because the convenience and comprehensiveness of this collection is such that the book ought to be regarded as an essential purchase for any institution engaged in advanced research on this most important area of maritime affairs.