Researching farmer suicides in India, the late Sidhu was pursuing a sociology doctorate at Panjab U. (Chandigarh, India) when she was killed in a traffic accident, leaving it up to her father to compile and edit her data into this book, which documents and enumerates cases of suicide by farmers and farm laborers in the state of Punjab between 1988 and 2008 and assesses causal factors, including government policy and lack of access to water. The volume also addresses survival strategies of farmers and farm laborers and issues of rehabilitation and compensation. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).