Review: One can always argue the case for a good book on selected case studies. One of the best in this regard is the State of the World series. However, their topics change and there is something to be said for those texts that change ideas and perspectives with the same topic over time. Partly this allows one to see how a topic has changed but it also gives a sense of historical perspective to subjects that often lack them. Now we have the third edition of this book we can see how idea have influenced each chapter.

The first issue is which topics to choose. To some extent this is personal preference but those used here do have two elements in common. The most obvious is that they have been issues for some time - these are key problems that have so far not been amenable to significant positive change. The other aspect is that they are truly global in scope affecting nearly all of us especially in regards to interdependence. We are no longer a group of nations but a collective of interests. This is bourne out in the first chapter which looks at the distribution of money and especially inequality. It starts from the idea that wealth is a relatively new idea but that its unequal spread is causing more than just economic issues. We get to see the Millennium Development Goals and their impact. There's also a section of different approaches to the distribution of wealth (communist, capitalist etc.). A look at the impact of globalisation completes this picture. Chapter two looks at population. Again, the modern rapid change is highlighted along with demographic theory and the theories of population control and the implications of population change. Chapter three moves on to food and the issues of food production. Next we move to energy and energy production. There's a survey of world supply and demand along with a discussion of future energy needs and how these can be met. Chapter five focusses on the environment. Here the clearer divisions of previous chapters become blurred. We start with a look at some of the key environmental issues - mainly pollution e.g. acid rain, ozone depletion and then move to land and water issues. The middle section of the chapter looks at ways to reduce our impact. Then the chapter turns towards extinction, of species and cultures. It finishes with a look at environmental politics. The chapter on technology focusses more on military than industrial and on negative rather than positive effects. A final chapter examines a series of alternative futures towards which we might be heading. A lengthy set of appendices looks at how these topics might be used in educational settings and where to get further information (much of it north American though).

Overall this is an extremely good book for the beginner. Chapters have been updated and key information improved. Emphases have been changed in light with the latest ideas. Most importantly, there's a limit of proselytising in the book. It accepts many areas are in a poor state but it gives knowledge and ideas as well as past, current and future directions (from which, presumably, we can made better decisions later. Overall, an extremely useful and readable text. A serious contender for library cash.