A World of Difference

Widely regarded as the standard text on development geography, this volume examines the nature and causes of global inequality and critically analyzes contemporary approaches to economic development across the third world. Students gain a deeper understanding of the interacting dynamics of culture, gender, race, and class; biophysical factors, such as climate, population, and natural resources; and economic and political processes-all of which have led to the present-day disparities between the first and third worlds. Numerous examples, sidebars, and figures illustrate how people in the global South are experiencing and contesting the forces of globalization. New to This Edition Updated to reflect a decade of economic, political, and social changes Extensively revised; more fully integrates postcolonial and feminist perspectives Broadens the prior edition's focus on Africa with examples from around the world A chapter on the promises and pitfalls of sustainable development.

Eric Sheppard, Department of Geography; Philip W. Porter, Department of Geography; David R. Faust, Ames Library of South Asia; and Richa Nagar, Department of Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies; all at: University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, USA

"This massive volume is a cultural geography textbook to be used in college-level courses dealing with world economic development. It covers an enormous range of topics using geographical and historical analyses...This is an excellent book that does not shy away from controversial issues or from taking a moral stand in the face of overwhelming suffering among so much of the world's population...This book is densely packed with information and ideas, but it is well-written and organized. It is a first-rate introduction for students and anyone else seeking a better understanding of the most important challenges facing the world today." - Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education "This book is the second edition of an impressive organized collection of topics on development and globalization...This second edition expands the focus of analysis by adding two contributing authors, who provide other theoretical perspectives (feminist and postcolonial analyses) to the initial use of political economy. Hopefully this accessible and valuable book will inspire students to get firsthand experiences on development and the consequences of globalization in cities and villages of Asia, Africa, and Latin America and critically reflect on the consequences of development and globalization." - European Planning Studies "A magnificent achievement! A richly detailed yet highly accessible text for courses on globalization and development. The second edition synthesizes diverse perspectives on the inequalities that characterize the contemporary world, clearly laying out how approaches such as postcolonialism and political economy can help us understand global differences. The authors are to be congratulated for crafting a text that does not shy away from the immense complexities of the natural and social world, but presents them in ways that invite reflection. The examples, case studies, and striking graphics and photographs will help students connect global patterns and processes with local lives, including their own." - Susan M. Roberts, University of Kentucky "The first edition of A World of Difference was a uniquely valuable volume that used the leitmotif of difference to present a comprehensive picture of the world's physical and social systems. In the second edition, this approach is given an added dimension by pairing the focus on difference with a focus on knowledge. The authors artfully weave these two themes together, providing readers with a profound understanding of the world in which they live." - Philip E. Steinberg, Florida State University "A textbook of impressive scope. The authors bring to the fore the perspectives of those inhabiting subject positions, spaces, and scales that have historically been excluded. Richly illustrated, the book introduces students to the complexity of our world and examines the multiple, intersecting forces that shape lives, livelihoods, and possibilities for change. Ultimately, the text offers a hopeful analysis that takes careful account of how globalization and resistance are always worked out in specific contexts, rather than being dictated from on high." - Victoria A. Lawson, University of Washington "This book is an invaluable resource not only for geographers, but for all who are interested in development and social change. Coverage ranges from colonial projects to corporate globalization, from local resource use to the politics of transnational investment, from theories of development to the social outcomes of actual development processes. Unlike those who claim that the world of globalization is 'flat,' Sheppard, Porter, Faust, and Nagar illuminate the historical and contemporary interconnections that make for a highly variegated and uneven global topography." - Jim Glassman, University of British Columbia "A holistic introduction that simultaneously explores the history if differentiation, its foundations in physical geography, and the institutional mechanisms and individual experiences implicated in a world of pervasive difference, Porter and Sheppard, against all odds, have produced a