Summary

This revised and updated new edition retains the clear and powerful argument which characterized the original. It gives a valuable analysis of the theory and practice of sustainable development and suggests that at the start of the new millennium, we should think radically about the challenge of sustainability.

Fully revised, this latest edition includes further reading, chapter outlines, chapter summaries and new discussion topics, and explores:

Offering a synthesis of theoretical ideas on sustainability based on the industrialized economies of the North and the practical, applied ideas in the South which tend to ignore 'First World' theory, this important text gives a clear discussion of theory and extensive practical insights drawn from Africa, Latin America and Asia.

Offering a synthesis of theoretical ideas on sustainability based on the industrialized economies of the North and the practical, applied ideas in the South which tend to ignore 'First World' theory, this important text gives a clear discussion of theory and extensive practical insights drawn from Africa, Latin America and Asia.

Choice Review

In this update to the first edition of this work (CH, Dec'90), Adams (Univ. of Cambridge) tries to bridge the gap between development theory and environmental protection, asserting that all sides of the development discussion have something to learn. The author begins with an extensive section that traces the roots of sustainable development as a concept, crossing through ecology, economics, political science, and environmental science writings. This is one of the best parts of the book, as Adams aims to be as complete in the summary as possible. He follows with an intuitive discussion of the costs of development, describing instances in which economic development is counterproductive to a country. He finishes with a discussion of "green development," arguing that mainstream economists should listen to the more radical environmental arguments, if for no other reason than to recognize additional costs of development that should be included in cost-benefit analyses. Adams also maintains that radical environmentalists need to look further at political economy theories of developing nations. This book is particularly noteworthy for the extensive bibliography and useful Web links at the end of each section. Appropriate for graduate, practitioner, and research library collections. B. J. Peterson Manchester College