In this new feature we highlight a recently launched book. We invite specialists in the field to comment on the book, and we invite the author to respond to their comments. In this issue we focus on Ann Stoler’s <i>Along the archival grain; Epistemic anxieties and colonial common sense</i>. Those invited to comment on the book are Frances Gouda, Remco Raben and Henk Schulte Nordholt. Registered readers may participate in the debate.