Customer Reviews

Challenge of Third World Development, The (5th Edition)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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).

Amazon lists this book as a separate book (custom edition). What is does not say is that this is the 5th edition of the book by Howard Handelman, chapter by chapter.

I had to read this book for an undergraduate course on the politics of the developing world. It can be difficult to read at times if the reader does not have some understanding of the developing world or the theories that surround their slow development into modernity. Overall it is an wonderful text for building a knowledge base and an excelllent reference tool.

This book is the answer to insomnia. It is a seeemingly endless litany of thories and events that are catalogued by various themes. Every potential statement or conclusion is immediately followed by a contrary statement or conclusion. There is a lot of repetition. I don't think he even successfully defines "third world". The language is dry and pedantic. I can't tell if the author thinks any nation is more just or fair than any other. Needless to say, that makes it hard to recommend any course of action for the emerging nations. An example of his muddled thinking is on page 122 where he asks if NATO intervened in Rwanda or the Congo wouldn't it also have been obligated to intervene in Alabama and Missippi in the 1960's? Can he see no difference or is it politically correct to equate the US with Rwanda? And who would the UN dispatch to police the US? Plus, the price is outrageous for a book that doesn't have any unique research or innovative ideas.

This is an extremely dry book. There are no maps (which is hard to believe for a political science book/text) and the charts Handelman uses are irrelevant. The writing style is frustrating to follow. Every section is out of chronological order.

My biggest peeve of this book is that Handelman doesn't provide his own research. He basically paraphrases other works and combined them all into a book. Its a cop out way of writing a political science book. None of his ideas are his and he lacks critical analysis necessary for a good political science text.

For example, Handelmann associates modernization with westernization however this isn't necessarily accurate. Many countries modernize without westernizing. To be fair, many of these same countries do absorb few western qualities but after the initial modernization process, they shed any western values. In fact, this produces a sharper anti-western sentiment as these modernized countries believe that westernization is not a necessary component of modernization. Handelmann does not distinguish between modernization and westernization- it is too favorable an argument that lacks critical analysis. Basically, Handelmann is one lazy dude trying to make a quick buck! Don't buy this book. I had it for a political science course and I wanted to throw it in the trask after reading every chapter. If you have to read it for a course then critically analyze Handelmann's arguments because they are all flawed- bonus participation points~