"...the book is ambitious, original, provocative, and engrossing. It promises to provide researchers and students in anthropology, media studies, and beyond with much that is good to argue with, in the domain of media theory and identity politics." - JRAI
"This book offers an open challenge to the relations between the media and nation-building, based on Postill's fieldwork in Iban society, and I believe that his setting of key questions is unerring and precise... Postill is astute in successfully uncovering an untouched point in Iban studies, as well as media studies." - Asian Journal of Social Science
"Postill's book will provide a stimulating read to anyone interested in the broad field of nationalism studies -- a breakthrough attempt to bring nation building back on the agenda of media and communication research, and a valuable contribution to the field of media anthropology. Further comparative work in this area will hopefully give rise to a revised theory of nation building, one that acknowledges and theorizes the diversity of nation building processes, and the associated diversity of modernization projects, around the world." - H-Nation
"... very well written, lively, incisive and clear. Students will learn a lot about anthropology and media from this book... it should be recommended or essential reading for students." - Andrew Beatty, Brunel University
"The book excellently traces the development of both print and electronic media, which are central in making the Iban Malaysian ... [It] contributes much to our understanding of the complex process of change that has occurred among the Ibans." - Asian Anthropology