Includes Index

Contents: Diversity amid globalization: Diversity amid globalization: A geography for twenty-first century -- Geography matters: environments, regions, landscapes -- Population and settlement: people on the land -- Cultural coherence and diversity: The geography of tradition and change -- Geopolitical framework: fragmentation and unity -- Economic and social development:the geography of wealth and poverty -- The changing global environment:Geology and human settlement:a restless earth -- Global climates:an uncertain forecast -- Water on earth: a scarce and polluted resource--Human impacts on plants and animals:the globalization of nature--Food resources:environment, diversity, globalization -- North america -- Environmental geography:a threatened land of plenty-- Population and settlement:Refashioning a continental landscape -- Cultural coherence and diversity:shifting patterns of pluralism -- Geopolitcal framework:patterns of dominance and division -- Economic and social development:geographies and abundance and affluence -- Latin america: Environmental geography:neotropical diversity -- Population and settlement:the dominance of cities -- Patterns of cultural coherence and diversity: Repopulating a continent -- Geopolitical framework:redrawing the map -- Economic and social development:dependent economic growth -- The Carribean: Environmental geography:paradise undone -- Population and settlement: densely settled islands and rimland frontiers -- Cultural coherence and diversity:a Neo-Africa in the Americas -- Geopolitical framework:colonialism. neo-colonialism and independence-- Economic and social development:from cane fields to cruise ships -- Sub-saharan Africa: Environmental geography:the Plateau Continent -- Population and settlement:young and restless -- Cultural coherence and diversity:unity through adversity -- Geopolitical framework:legacies of colonialism and conflict -- Economic and social development: the struggle to rebuild -- Southwest Asia and North Africa: Environmental geography: life in a fragile world -- Population and settlement: patterns in an arid land -- Cultural coherence and diversity: signature of complexity -- Geopolitical framework: a region of persisting tensions --Economic and social development: lands of wealth and poverty -- Europe: Environmental geography:human transformation of a diverse landscape -- Settlement and population:slow growth and rapid migration -- Cultural coherence and diversity:a mosaic of differences -- Geopolitical framework: a dynamic map -- economic and social development: Integration and transition -- The Russian domain: Environmental geography: a vast and challenging land -- Population and settlement: an urban domain -- Cultural coherence and diversity: the legacy of slavic dominance -- Geopolitical framework: the remnants of a global superpower -- Economic and social development: an era of ongoing adjustment -- Central Asia: Environmental geography:Steppes, Deserts, and Threatened Lakes of the Eurasian Heartland -- Population and settlement:densely settled oases and vacant lands -- Cultural coherence and diversity:a meeting ground of disparate traditions -- Geopolitical Framework: political reawakening in a power void -- Economic and social development: abundant resources, devastated economies -- East Asia: Environmental geography:resource pressures in a crowded land -- Population and settlement: a region of crowded basins -- Cultural coherence and diversity:a confusian realm? --The geopolitical framework and its evolution:The imperial legacies of China and Japan -- Economic and social development: an emerging core of the global economy -- South Asia: Environmental Geography:diverse landscapes, from tropical islands to mountain rim -- Population and settlement: the demographic dilemma -- Cultural coherence and diversity: a common heritage rent by religious rivalries --Geopolitical framework: a deeply divided region -- Economy and social development:burdened by poverty -- Southeast Asia: Environmental geography: a once-forested region -- Population and Settlement: subsistence, migration, cities -- Cultural coherence and diversity: a meeting ground of world cultures -- Geopolitical framework: war, ethnic strife, and regional cooperation -- Economic and social development: the roller-coaster ride of tiger economies -- Australia and oceania: Environmental geography: a varied natural and human habitat -- Population and settlement: a diverse cultural landscape -- Cultural coherence and diversity:a global crossroads -- Geopolitical framework: a land of fluid boundaries -- Economic and social development: a hard path to paradise -- Glossary -- Index.