Written by Hennie Swanepoel and Frik de Beer(both based in South Africa) this development studies text, first published in 1997, is suitable for all introductory-level courses.

Now in its fourth edition, Geographies of Development: An Introduction to Development Studies remains a core, balanced and comprehensive introductory textbook for students of Development Studies, Development Geography and related fields. This clear and concise text encourages critical engagement by integrating theory alongside practice and related key topics throughout. It demonstrates informatively that ideas concerning development have been many and varied and highly contested - varying from time to time and from place to place. Clearly written and accessible for students, who have no prior knowledge of development, the book provides the basics in terms of a geographical approach to development what situation is, where, when and why. Over 200 maps, charts, tables, textboxes and pictures break up the text and offer alternative ways of showing the information. The text is further enhanced by a range of pedagogical features: chapter outlines, case studies, key thinkers, critical reflections, key points and summaries, discussion topics and further reading. Geographies of Development continues to be an invaluable introductory text not only for geography students, but also anyone in area studies, international studies and development studies.

Why has Africa remained persistently poor over its recorded history? Has Africa always been poor? What has been the nature of Africa's poverty and how do we explain its origins? This volume takes a necessary interdisciplinary approach to these questions by bringing together perspectives from archaeology, linguistics, history, anthropology, political science, and economics. Several contributors note that Africa's development was at par with many areas of Europe in the first millennium of the Common Era. Why Africa fell behind is a key theme in this volume, with insights that should inform Africa's developmental strategies.

Taxation has been seen as the domain of charisma-free accountants, lawyers and number crunchers – an unlikely place to encounter big societal questions about democracy, equity or good governance. Yet it is exactly these issues that pervade conversations about taxation among policymakers, tax collectors, civil society activists, journalists and foreign aid donors in Africa today. Tax has become viewed as central to African development. Written by leading international experts, Taxing Africa offers a cutting-edge analysis on all aspects of the continent's tax regime, displaying the crucial role such arrangements have on attempts to create social justice and push economic advancement. From tax evasion by multinational corporations and African elites to how ordinary people navigate complex webs of 'informal' local taxation, the book examines the potential for reform, and how space might be created for enabling locally-led strategies.

In recent years the popularity of service learning and study abroad programs that bring students to the global South has soared, thanks to this generation of college students' desire to make a positive difference in the world. This collection contains essays by undergraduates who recount their experiences in Togo working on projects that established health insurance at a local clinic, built a cyber café, created a microlending program for teens, and started a local writers' group. The essays show students putting their optimism to work while learning that paying attention to local knowledge can make all the difference in a project's success. Students also conducted research on global health topics by examining the complex relationships between traditional healing practices and biomedicine. Charles Piot's introduction contextualizes student-initiated development within the history of development work in West Africa since 1960, while his epilogue provides an update on the projects, compiles an inventory of best practices, and describes the type of projects that are likely to succeed. Doing Development in West Africa provides a relatable and intimate look into the range of challenges, successes, and failures that come with studying abroad in the global South. Contributors. Cheyenne Allenby, Kelly Andrejko, Connor Cotton, Allie Middleton, Caitlin Moyles, Charles Piot, Benjamin Ramsey, Maria Cecilia Romano, Stephanie Rotolo, Emma Smith, Sarah Zimmerman

'The big, era-defining questions and, at last, the subtle, tenable answers, teased out without clich? or compromise. A vital volume at a critical moment.' Dr Augustus Casely-Hayford, Director, Africa '05 'This book dispels the myth of a uniformly hopeless, hungry continent. It shows just how'extraordinarily diverse Africa is'and how much it'has changed in the last 20 years.'Full of fresh thinking on'problems that face Africa and new African approaches to development.' Richard Dowden, Director, Royal African Society This ground-breaking book, with a foreword by former President of Ireland (1990?1997) and UN Human Rights Commissioner (1997?2002) Mary Robinson, uniquely distils the complex issues surrounding Africa at the beginning of the 21st century. African and Western scholars provide a fascinating 'map' for the reader to navigate between issues such as urban and rural livelihoods, the potential of fresh water fishing, health, the HIV/AIDS crisis, conflict and efforts at peacemaking. Also included are critical assessments of Africa's role in the global economy, the growth of regional economic cooperation within Africa, the influence of ethnicity on the continent's politics, the evolution of its political institutions, and the impact of Africa's legal systems on its development. A substantial introductory essay by the editors measures the distance Africa has travelled and the lessons it has learned since Africa in Crisis, the classic Earthscan book, was published in 1985. Ben Wisner is visiting research fellow at DESTIN, London School of Economics and at Benfield Hazard Research Centre, University College London, and visiting professor of environmental studies, Oberlin College, USA. Camilla Toulmin is Director of the International Institute for Environment and Development. Rutendo Chitiga is a freelance writer and editor, and has a postgraduate degree in environment and development.

Bringing together a distinguished cast of contributors, the book provides an authoritative and definitive analysis of the theory, practice and development impact of corruption in Africa. Combating corruption is demonstrated to require greater priority in the quest for African development.