Like Godzilla trashing Tokyo, U.S. critics have stomped all over Toho Studio's venerable series of monster films. Kalat's project is consequently a rehabilitation. A writer and independent filmmaker, Kalat questions cultural biases and supplies a welter of information in the form of complete synopses and credits for the 23 Godzilla features, impressive production notes, and analyses of sociopolitical subtexts. Although his analyses lack academic rigor, his scholarship is commendable in its harnessing of details from both sides of the Pacific. The author draws upon film industry publications, the mainstream press, and fanzines to rectify the mainstream's poor critical treatment of Godzilla. Among other things, he reveals that most of the films were scored by Akira Ifukube, Japan's distinguished classical composer, and that many of them share personnel associated with Akira Kurosawa. Sure to please Godzilla fans, Kalat's work will also interest scholars pursuing Japanese cultural studies.?Neal Baker, Dickinson Coll. Lib., Carlisle, Pa.