For those unfamiliar with CAS simulation, Cederman presents a reasonable, if slightly overstated, summary of the fundamental trade-offs of CAS relative to more common rational choice models. Although CAS simulations sacrifice the deductive elegance of conventional rational-choice models, he argues, treating the actors as dependent rather than independent variables introduces new research questions that cannot easily be addressed or even conceived without such an approach (p. 7). CAS does offer the alternative that Cederman suggests, but it is not alone in that capability. An entire class of computational models offers much of the same promise (e.g., Hudson 1991). In Emergent Actors in World Politics, Cederman sets several important goals for himself. For example, he sets out to demonstrate that CAS can model historical contingency, and, indeed, counterfactual analysis is well within the capabilities of CAS simulation. Cederman also presents his work as an application of Herbert Simon's (1985) principle of satisficing (p. 87)-certainly an intellectual advance over most rational choice models. Yet, Cederman's operationalization is not necessarily faithful to Simon's concept. In Figure 4.7, which explicates the decision phase of his model, Cederman randomizes the choice of agent, province, and target after establishing a priority criterion, such as weakest sovereign neighbor. While randomization is consistent with satisficing behavior incorporating simple cognitive heuristics into the choice by, for instance, choosing familiar agents, it is more consistent with Simon's (1985) concept of bounded rationality than his concept of satisficing. Emergent Actors should be commended for addressing some of the most fundamental problems of world politics. Cederman begins the volume by offering an overview of schools of thought in the study of international relations. He then tackles such difficult issues as emergent polarity and a number of aspects of nationalism. Cederman contributes to the academic dialogue on all these subjects, sometimes in important and insightful ways. The book's contributions are not, however, sufficiently overwhelming to warrant some of Cederman's conclusions. The probabilistic nature of Cederman's work and the lack of what is traditionally considered data are two critical aspects of Emergent Actors. Cederman