TEMPERED BY RUM: RUM IN THE HISTORY OF THE MARITIME PROVINCES Edited by James H. Morrison and James Moreira Porters lake (N.S.), Pottersfield Press, 1988.159pp, paper, $13.95 ISBN 0-919001-54-8. CIP Grades 10 and up / Ages 15 and up Reviewed by Catherine R. Cox. Volume 17 Number 5 1989 September Rum by Gum was the theme of a conference held in Yarmouth, N.S., by the Federation of Nova Scotian Heritage in October, 1986. Many of the papers presented at this conference have been collected for Tempered by Rum. The collection gives an historical overview of the rum trade, with details of sugar manufacture, the sugar and rum trade with the West Indies, naval traditions involving rum, temperance movements, taverns in Victorian Halifax, the illegal rum trade, and prohibition in the 1920s. The papers are arranged thematically allowing the reader to focus on one aspect or get an overview of all of them. Although these papers were presented mostly by academics at an historical conference, they arc, for the most part, short and highly readable though well researched with notes and bibliographies. This is a scholarly collection containing a wealth of information. There is no index but the table of contents is very detailed with enough information for researchers to find the appropriate paper for their needs. There are black-and-white illustrations and photographs that add considerable interest to the work. I found a few editorial errors that should have been picked up by the publisher, but they do not detract significantly from the attractive presentation of the material. The rum trade is an ever-popular theme of historians and local historians especially in the Atlantic Provinces. Tempered by Rum is a well-researched presentation of this trade and the Prohibition era in the Atlantic provinces that does not glorify the era and that is also not a collection of personal and biased reminiscences. It is a valuable addition to Atlantic history. Catherine R. Cox, Moncton High School, Moncton, N.B.