Jake Crabtree is an unwilling volunteer for his granddad’s inventions. They’re supposed to cure the twelve-year-old of his stammer, but more often than not he’s lucky to escape with all of his limbs intact.He has an accident at a local science fair when his secret formula spills onto his neighbour’s harmless picnic basket. This creates a creature that starts to abduct the villages of Little Codswallop, replacing them with not so perfect copies.Jake and his family have to co...

First published in 1987, this volume stresses the importance of development studies for sociology, as P. W. Preston argues that this field of study is emerging from the technical social scientific ghetto back into the mainstream of the ‘classical tradition’ of social theorizing, represented by Marx, Weber and Durkheim.Preston discusses the position of development studies in relation to the wider group of the social sciences in general and to sociology in particular. Using examples ...

Dr Preston’s book, first published in 1982, presents a critical history of development studies since the Second World War, linking the recent, neo-Marxist, debate with the whole tradition in the field, going back to the work of economists like Arthur Lewis.He identifies a series of ‘schools’ and evaluates their contribution, supplying in each case a careful analysis, informed by the sociology of knowledge, of the work of its leading theorists. His final assessment draws on the crit...

The theme of this work, first published in 1985, is the exchange between issues of development and problems of social theory. They provide preliminary analysis of the multiplicity of social-theoretic arguments in development theory and their implications for social theory in general.The book will be of interest to all those interested in the contemporary ‘restructuring’ of social theory and to theorists of development who are rethinking their concerns in a period of pessimism and d...

This book tracks the phases of Singapore’s economic and political development, arguing that its success was always dependent upon the territories links with the surrounding region and the wider global system, and suggests that managing these links today will be the key to the country’s future. Singapore has followed a distinctive historical development trajectory. It was one of a number of cities which provided bases for the expansion of the British empire in the East. But the Pacific War ...

`The expression of human experience it embodies ... includes all personal history'.Saul Bellow's view of the city is far from that of classic geographical descriptions which look at growth or decline, demographic patterns, traffic flows and economic potential: these empirically conceived models of urban geography fail to accommodate the crucial human aspect of city life.Located at the interface of geography and literature, Writing the City visualizes the cit...

With the rise of industrial capitalism in Europe and the related imposition of colonial rule in much of East Asia, both Europe and East Asia have intertwined histories that continue to shape their political thinking and political decision making. The contemporary interactions of the two regions – now once again major trading partners – will both depend upon and facilitate deeper understandings of their respective sets of national pasts. This book compares national pasts as well as the curr...

In 1997 the British state relinquished control of Hong Kong. From that point an established prosperous community was faced with reordering its sense of itself and its links with the wider world around the authority of Beijing. This book traces the political relationship between Hong Kong and China, and sketches a number of possible future scenarios ranging from successful mutual understanding, through to breakdown and the imposition of rule from Beijing.Having lived and worked in E...

In September 1944 the Western Allies mounted an audacious attempt to seize a crossing over the Rhine into Germany in a bid to end the Second World War quickly. Yet despite the deployment of thousands of American, British and Polish airborne troops, in conjunction with the efforts of ground forces to link up with them, ultimately at Arnhem in the Netherlands, the plan failed spectacularly and the war continued well into 1945. Famously depicted in the blockbuster film A Bridge Too Far (1977)...

With a large and growing economy and a leadership dedicated both to domestic reform and the further integration into international society and the world economy, China is facing and posing important challenges at the local, national, regional and wider international level. This book analyses the developmental trajectories of China up to and into the new millennium. Focusing on the substance and underlying forces of change, it considers issues and developments in monetary policy, foreign ex...

‘The Duke is a soldier – a bad education for a statesmen in a free country’. Sir Walter Scott’s fear of the political soldier has long been part of Western political life. Yet although many countries would have preferred to keep the military out of politics few have been successful.Originally published in 1976, this book examines the careers of five distinguished twentieth century soldiers and assesses their contribution as statesmen. Hindenburg, Byng, Franco, Eisenhower and De Gau...

This title is a celebration of the life of Nina Coltart, who had a career in medicine and psychoanalysis and was author of bestselling titles in psychotherapy The Baby and the Bathwater and How to Survive as a Psychotherapist. The book contains a large number of contributions by specialists in the field including Michael Brearley, Susan Budd and Anthony Molino. The book offers a long-overdue tribute to Nina Coltart (1927-1997), who was a leading figure in the Independent Group of the Briti...