In assembling with rare balance a rich quantity of empirical material and analyzing it with exemplary insight, Cramb has not only produced a definitive text on a key geographical and cultural domain of the Southeast Asian realm, but also contributed immensely to the ongoing debate about ‘development’. Land and Longhouse can be considered a masterpiece, the magnum opus of a long distance researcher.

Reviewed by Rodolphe De Koninck, Canada Chair of Asian Research, University of Montreal, Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, Vol. 30, No. 2 (July 2009)

"While the geographic focus of this book is tight, its temporal scale is expansive, and the depth of its research is immense." " Among the highlights is the use of specific cases concerning land disputes heard by the local courts from Brooke times to almost the present. These add an immediacy and specificity to the analysis and make it "personal." It is only one of the several aspects of this excellent book that make it stand above many others." Reviewed by Christine Padoch, Pacific Affairs, vol. 81, no. 4

"…an admirable overview of agriculture change in one upland region in the Saribas District…" Reviewed by Wil de Jong, Southeast Asian Studies, vol. 46, no. 3, 2008

“…an impressive scholarly work that pulses with the life of the Iban people [..] of Borneo.”

"...this book breathes."

Reviewed by Jill Windle, The Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics

"...a detailed and extremely valuable book on the history of agricultural land use and land tenure among the Iban of Sarawak, focusing on case studies from the Saribas area." Reviewed by Monica Janowski, ASEASUK

"Land and Longhouse by Robert Cramb is  not a book that romantizes the lives of the indigenous communities in Sarawak, Malaysia, in light of modernization and development.  Rather, it is a vigorous study of the historic transformation of the Iban, the largest ethnic group in Sarawak, and of their system of agricultural practices over a period of one hundred and fifty years. 

...this publication provides invaluable information for researchers and policymakers interested in commercial agricultural development and its implications on indigenous communities from a political economy perspective.  Cramb presents a clear discussion of the issues involved, the impact on the Saibas Iban of modernization and development over several decades, and how their community has transformed over time.  Cramb also provides invaluable insights into how agricultural transformation endeavours should be approached in order to minimize the attendant conflicts and tensions associated with developing lands for commercial agriculture."

Reviewed by Lee Poh Onn, Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia, vol. 25, no. 1 (April 2010)

"Rob Cramb’s study raises provocative questions about Iban society, the nature of the Southeast Asian uplands, and agrarian history.  He presents a work distinguished by the depth of its scholarship and the breadth of the questions addressed by it."

Reviewed by , Michael R. Dove, Professor of Social Ecology, Yale University

"Rob Cramb has written an excellent book with a much needed longitudinal perspective on agrarian change. The book is an important contribution to the urgent need for understanding the dynamics and consequences – both environmental and social – of upland transformation in Southeast Asia."

Reviewed by , Ole Mertz, Reader in Geography, University of Copenhagen

"… this study is certain to become a major reference point for future work on land use, tenure, and agrarian change in upland Southeast Asia"

Reviewed by , Clifford Sather, formerly Professor of Dayak Studies, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak