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Part one. This seemed to attempt to summar-ize theories in an unnecessarily casual ‘theoryfor dummies’ style, and although some kind ofoverview might have been valuable, it is notuseful for a beginner struggling with theoriesto be misled by humorous notes, when a cleardirection could have been more effective.

Authors contributing to this book are froma wide range of Northern hemisphere Anglo-phonic areas, though it is good to see a NewZealander, Robin Kearns from The Universityof Auckland, contributing to Part one (struc-turation theory) and to Part two, presenting hisautobiography. Part two is enjoyable to read.This autobiographical section invites readersto apply the theoretical frameworks of Partone to authors’ personal lives and perspectives.There is perhaps a small bias towards authorswith a background in gender perspectives.However, it does not seem to matter whenconsidering the value that this section has tooffer, namely showing how philosophies andacademic environments, practice and researchenvironments, and the positionality of aperson undertaking human geography overlapwith and influence each other. Part threesynthesizes these attempts by taking on theangle of ‘practice’ – readers, students orresearchers are positioned as observers offieldwork or methodological practice, andfrom this perspective, they can choose from avariety of options already explained in theoryin Part one.

This book ends with a catalogue of ques-tions and a glossary, both of which, similarly tothe editors’ passnotes, come across as beingput together in a rush. I would have liked tosee the inclusion of a few more basic terms inthe glossary, such as ‘ontology’, a term whichwas used frequently. The editors are to becommended, however, on providing a balancedand coherent structure to the book, making iteasy to identify main approaches and to findconnections between the component parts ofthe book. The introductory sections for allthree parts are superbly written and veryuseful. The editors take the position that ‘know-ledge is contested, controversial and partial’,and consequently do not want to ‘disengagefrom the conflict that arises between ideas andfractions that compete for control of geographyas an intellectual resource that helps make

sense of the world’, thus the book aims to‘engage intellectual conflict and tension as theharbingers of change and social engagementthrough practice’ (p. 11). I believe that readersinterested in the philosophy and practice ofgeography (and especially those that agree withthe editors’ views as expressed in the previousquotations) should read this book.

Approachesto Human Geography

is a useful resource whe-ther one is involved in the learning or teachingof human geography.

Maria Borovnik

Institute of Development StudiesSchool of People, Environment and Planning

Massey University

XXX Book ReviewBook ReviewBook ReviewBook Review

Political geography

Mark Blacksell. Routledge, London and NewYork, 2006. 244 pp. ISBN 0-415-24668-7.

At time when the Research Assessment Exer-cise (RAE) in the UK and the PerformanceBased Research Fund (PBRF) in New Zealandfocus attention towards research, Mark Black-sell reminds geographers that undergraduateteaching can be rewarding particularly if it issupported by readable, authoritative, up-to-dateand affordable text books. He laments thatthe ‘two-way link between teaching and researchis being forgotten’ (p. xi).

The book is divided into three sectionsconcerned with ‘patterns and processes’, ‘ideologyand geopolitical visions’ and ‘beyond thestate’, respectively. Blacksell employs a verybroad conception of political geography as thestudy of resource conflicts and their resolutionand of the ‘forces that go to shape the worldwe inhabit and how they play themselves outin the landscape across the globe’ (p. 1). Heexplicitly recognizes how conceptions of poli-tical geography have changed over time andhow its star has waxed and waned within geo-graphy. He takes care, however, to situate itwithin human geography generally.

Section A breaks away from the state as anabsolute starting point for political geography,and Blacksell nests it within a wider discussionof maps (and mapping controversies such asover the Peter’s projection), empires and their

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expansion, and the local state before exploringdifference, for instance in terms of ethnicdivisions. The section wraps up with discussionsof civil society, green pressure groups andformal electoral geographies. One advantageof this sequence is that it brings electoral geog-raphy into political geography proper ratherthan keeping it at the margins.

In Section B, the classical contributions togeopolitics are touched upon before proceedingfrom boundaries to critical geopolitics. A sub-sequent chapter looks at geopolitics in actionwith examples drawn from across 200 years,and a further chapter deals with the ‘annexa-tion of the oceans’, which is an informativeway of tackling what previously was taughtunder the more restricted rubric of the ‘law ofthe sea’. Section C is shorter but neverthelessdelves into relatively new areas for politicalgeography in concentrating on globalizationand international government, though theunderpinning of much of this is still PeterTaylor’s reworking of Wallerstein’s worldsystems theory. This section is arguably moretentative than the previous chapters, but tosome extent, this is a reflection of the amountof attention of primary research on these topicsby political geographers.

The book has the design features of thecurrent generation of introductory text booksin that there is ‘boxed’ material in each chapterthat illustrates key points or provides moredetailed examples (e.g. box 1.1. on Modernismand postmodernism and box 11.1 on theOECD). Each chapter ends with a shortsection entitled ‘Key Themes and FurtherReading’. The author has not been swayed bythe notion that the most recent publicationsare necessarily the most informative and has not

hesitated to list classic texts in political and humangeography from the last 30 years. Readerswho follow-up these reading suggestions willbe directed to concerns at the heart of Anglo-American human geography over the pastgeneration. The maps are of a simple black andwhite line drawing type and have a stark simpli-city while effectively conveying their message.

While I consider Blacksell to have met hisobjectives writing this textbook, I would makesome additional comments. First, he offers abroad introduction to political geography, onethat engages with critical geopolitics andpost-modernism but does not use them as theentry point to the discussion. Second, thepolitical world that Blacksell writes about isunsurprisingly centred on Europe, although hehas included material from the USA andIndia. Third, the text is written in an engagingway that is not defensive about political geog-raphy, which ought to make it of wider interestto readers beyond geography.

The book came to me just prior to teachinga module on political geography to a first yearclass. It contains much that is of use, but notwithstanding the prominence of New Zealandon the globe wielded by the great dictator onthe book’s cover, a political geography fromNew Zealand still requires some reading acrossthe grain of the standard array of introduc-tory political geography textbooks to allow forits recent colonial experience and position atthe margins of the schemes of the great geo-political thinkers.

Michael Roche

Geography ProgrammeSchool of People, Environment and Planning

Massey University