Customer Reviews

Inside the Third World: The Anatomy of Poverty; Third Edition (Penguin Politics)

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For years I have used Paul Harrison's Inside the Third World as a required reading in my Bibical Theology of Poverty class and have found that it opens doors and windows for college students. As one who has lived and worked for decades first in Asia and now in Africa, I appreciate Harrison's evenhanded coverage of the factors leading to poverty. He begins with the physical factors such as soil and climate which are so often overlooked in the more radical critiques. But he does not spare the colonial masters. The book is full of stories and incidents which make it readable. One would hope that a new edition with update statistics might be issued as we enter the year 2000.

If you ever wonder why the third world is the way it is, read this book. Although it is heavy going in parts, generally I would have to say that this is well written by a person who obviously knows the topic extremely well.

This book was amazing and challenging. I loved every minute of my reading of it. It gives me a reason to reach out to others in the world and want to give them the same opportunities I have as I get a clearer picture of how the rest of the world lives. Is it possible people are so resilient despite having so much against them? At times the book did leave me feeling hopeless. I especially recommend chapters 1,4,15,18,20. I'm anxious to read his other books. Thanks Paul Harrison for all your work bringing this to us.

"The battered Moroccan bus heaved its bulk up the Atlas mountains, eroded by the tracks of a hundred absent streams." Nothing says it better than Paul does with his own words. This work is insightful, bringing the reader almost physically to dozens of different poverty-stricken locations, and well-written. Moreover, despite the harsh realities he presents, Paul's detailed description makes the experience fluid and enjoyable. "As dawn rises over the mud-walled royal palace at Ouagadougou, the emperor's horse, impatient in its heavy trappings of emerald, scarlet and gold, snorts and paws the ground." Yes, this book is definitely about global poverty, but it's written from a view you've never seen before. Embedded in the enchanting description is an awakening for the reader -- a new awareness of people and their struggles all over the planet.

If you've ever blamed poverty and underdevelopment on cultural or racial inferiority, or wondered why Europe and the West industrialized while other regions didn't, read this book. A friend just lent it to me, and I found it incredibly convicting. Learn how most of the world lives, and most importantly, why it does.

This book contains lots of valuable information, but it's long and not very well written. To be honest it's rather boring but I still ploughed through the whole thing to get all the information. The worst for me were the long lists of numbers given within paragraphs, and the fact that information is often repeated several times.

This is a very one-sided book by an obvious liberal. Some parts of the book are true but only one side of the story is portrayed.

i think this book is awful. please send me some information on it. i read it, but it was so confusing and had so many numbers and stuff, i didnt understand it at all. it would be so greatly appreciated if you could send me a summary of the book, that could help me in writing a 4 page report.
thank you, jojo evanick