Challenge of Third World Development, The (4th Edition) [Paperback]

Howard Handelman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 4, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0131930702 | ISBN-13: 978-0131930704 | Edition: 4

This book explores political, economic, and social issues common to diverse Third World countries. It stresses the themes of democratization, modernization, and dependency theory, examining the nature of underdevelopment. The text analyzes the major political and socio economic rifts that divide many of these nations and the efforts being made to understand and address these challenges.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“If you want one text to give students an introduction to the developing world, Handelman is it. It's free of jargon and expertly written; my students even like the political economy chapter.”—Wendy Hunter, University of Texas-Austin

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Publisher

This text explores various aspects of political, economic, and social development and underdevelopment in the broad array of countries that make up the Third World. It identifies the major challenges facing developing nations and the efforts being made to address them. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 324 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 4 edition (September 4, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0131930702
• ISBN-13: 978-0131930704
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,060,478 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening., August 19, 2006

By 

JEB (VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Challenge of Third World Development, The (4th Edition) (Paperback)

This was my text for an undergraduate sociology course. Handelman did an exceptional job in presenting the multiple inter-related facets that complicate the development of Third World nations. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the plight of these countries. My only disappointment was his underlyng premise that democracy is the answer. I suspect that is the belief in most of Western society. However, I am not convinced.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars to better the understand the third world, November 19, 2002

By 

Neel Aroon "jaroon7648" (Lexington, KY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Challenge of Third World Development (3rd Edition) (Paperback)

Handelman provides what the third world has to deal with to become industrialized democracies. He foucses on underdevelopment, democratic changes. religion and politics, ethnic conflict, women in development, agrarian reform, and rapid uranization among other topics. THe book was published recently so it even has some information about 9-11 and its impact.

Good source for third world development.

3.0 out of 5 stars Typos and grammatical errors detract from the text, June 7, 2011

By 

K. Collins (Knoxville, TN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Challenge of Third World Development, The (6th Edition) (Paperback)

This textbook does an excellent job of explaining different viewpoints surrounding third world development. Though it's quite obvious that the author has a capitalistic/First World bias, he still effectively presents opposing views.

My gripe with the text - and it's a big one because I'm a stickler for such things - is the various errors, both typos and grammatical mistakes throughout the text. I don't know if previous editions are this poorly written and edited, but if not, it speaks to a quickly prepared sixth edition. It took away from the enjoyment for me (which already had a cap since I was reading it for a class).