In Unions and the Public Interest: Collective bargaining in the government sector, author Sandra Christensen, an economist at Simon Fraser University, carefully examines the growth and development of public sector unions. In a concise and easy-to-read style, she provides a useful survey of what is known about the determination of employee compensation in the public sector and how it compares with bargaining in the private sector. And, although the area is fraught with complexity, Professor Christensen is able to make several practical suggestions of how society can cope with the extraordinary problems posed by public sector labour disputes. Her proposals are direct and challenging and will provoke widespread debate.