Like West Bengal, Kerala is best known outside India for its communist leanings. In 1957 the newly formed state returned what was the first significant, democratically elected communist government in the world. T. J. Nossiter’s work provides the first full-length treatment of Kerala, comparable to Franda’s account of West Bengal. Nossiter made four visits to Kerala between 1970 and 1977 and bases his work on a wide range of sources: official and party documents, English and local language newspapers, interviews, census information, survey data, and an original analysis of election results presented in both map and statistical form.