The Earthscan Reader in Sustainable Development

Such a huge number of books, journals and papers have been devoted to defining, assessing and implementing 'sustainable development' that students and other readers face information overload. Earthscan alone has published hundreds of essays and books on the subject. Now, though, the most authoritative writings have been carefully assessed and collected together in the Earthscan Reader in Sustainable Development.

The contributions included span five years of the debate, and cover all the principle themes: the history of the concept; the problems in defining it; the issues surrounding it; and national international policies and schemes to implement it. For ease of use, the essays have been split into key subject areas - such as agriculture, population and the commons - and they include practical case studies and examples, together with analyses from a number of different viewpoints from both the North and South.

These seminal essays will provide readers with a unique overview of the subject, as well as the long-awaited basic course material for students of environmental studies, economics, geography, politics, planning and the social sciences.

JOHN KIRKBY is Senior Lecturer in Environmental Management and Sustainable Development at the University of Northumbria in Newcastle, and has worked on development issues in the South for a number of years.

PHIL O'KEEFE is a Reader of Environmental Management at the University of Northumbria. He has extensive experience of running development projects, and has published numerous books and articles on the subject.

LLOYD TIMBERLAKE was the editorial advisor to WCED in the preparation of Our Common Future. He has worked in over 50 countries, and his prize-winning books include Africa in Crisis (1985), Only One Earth (1987), and When the Bough Breaks (1990).