David Jenkins’ book, the first installment in a planned three-volume biography, covers the years from Soeharto’s birth in 1921 to the ending of the Japanese occupation of Indonesia in 1945. It critically examines just about every claim made in previous biographies and delves into a new level of detail concerning his parentage, upbringing, schooling, and employment. Jenkins came to know the man when working as an Australian journalist posted to Jakarta from 1969–1970 and again in 1976–1980. Amidst his other work, Jenkins has been interviewing people who knew Soeharto and been collecting documents (in Dutch, Japanese, and Indonesian) about him ever since. He has consulted many of the leading historians specializing in twentieth-century Indonesia. With a gestation period of about five decades, this biography is extraordinarily well-researched. One cannot imagine it ever losing its status as the most comprehensive and reliable source on Soeharto’s life.