Human Geography: Culture, Society, and Space (Advanced Placement Student Companion, Seventh Edition) (Paperback)

by A. Steele Becker (Author), Jacqueline V. Becker (Author) "Humans are geographers by nature..." (more)
Key Phrases: relocation diffusion, expansion diffusion, cultural globalization, United States, Industrial Revolution, South America (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Authoritatively written by a geographer who has worked on every continent, Human Geography is sensitive to people of other cultures and from all walks of life.
* Focuses on key geographic concepts and puts them in practical and current perspective.
* Key issues that readers often have strong opinions about are identified and placed in geographical perspective which may often change readers views and opinions on the issues and problems.

From the Back Cover
The cover photos show two people in two places connected to a wider world through modern technology. For many, such images evoke a world of social, economic, and cultural "globalization." Yet what does globalization mean? Are the lives of the individuals on the cover, one in Yemen (front cover) and the other in the United States (back cover), converging? Can we increasingly think of ourselves as living in one world? Some might say "yes," but a look into the geographical context within which these individuals lead their lives reveals a more complicated answer. These two people live in places that have developed distinct human and physical attributes. Moreover, there is a geography to globalization itself, in that internationalized technologies, economic interactions, and cultural forms affect some places more than others. If we are to understand the complexities of the modern world, we must consider how global forces are interacting with local and regional geographies to produce the patterns and processes that are shaping our constantly changing, endlessly fascinating world. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 7 edition (September 18, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471273589
• ISBN-13: 978-0471273585
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #432,533 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT TEXTBOOK!!!, April 21, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Human Geography: Culture, Society, and Space (Hardcover)

I wanted to take the Human Geography AP Exam but we didn't have a course at our school so I had to study for it on my own. As there are no published AP guides, my only source of information was this textbook. I not only scored a 5 on the exam, but I also tested out of the second semester of Human Geography once I got to college as well!! Fabulous textbook!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Marred by inaccuracies, March 3, 2006

By	Canadian reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: Human Geography: Culture, Society, and Space (Hardcover)

The prose in this book is well-written and easy to read, a blessing given how indigestibly ponderous most textbooks are, even when they're expressing otherwise simple ideas. It's what the text says and doesn't say that's at issue.

On the Middle East, for example, the text notes that Palestinians "migrated or fled" during the 1948 war. Fair enough, it's an attempt not to take sides regarding the wildly different narratives of this event, a tragedy in the lives of 600,000 people. But the text does not even mention that at the same time, in direct response to the founding of Israel, 800,000 Jews in Arab Middle Eastern countries were expelled from these countries. That's a strange omission in a book on human geography. At another point in the book we read that from 1917 to 1948, when Palestine was under the British Mandate, the British ENCOURAGED Jewish immigration to Palestine. I guess that's why so many Jews, fleeing death from the Nazis with nothing but the clothes on their backs, were forced to risk their lives again, trying to land on the beach in the middle of the night from leaky ships out of Cyprus. The immigration quotas imposed on Jews during the British Mandate are a historical fact. I don't know enough about other areas of the world to critique what the text says about them----it would be interesting to hear from other reviewers--but with this level of omission and inaccuracy, can I trust anything else the book says?

In addition, a glance through the book reveals other errors and confusions. Page 4: What are the units for the Gross National Income in the map? US dollars? Or is this a relative scale? Page 14-15: 90% or over of what?? 90% of Calfiornia students said they'd prefer to live in California? California received an approval rating of 90% or over as a place to live? Page 40: The world population distribution says that "1 dot represents 100,000 people". Note that there is ONE dot in the vicinity of, I guess, Calgary and none in the vicinity of Edmonton--both cities now have about a million people, so they should have about 10 dots each, no? And this is just in the first 40 pages.

This book was supposed to be released in December 2005, but there were delays and I received the book only yesterday. There should have been time to pick up mistakes like the above.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellant Book for AP Human Geography!!!, March 27, 2004

By	Peter Nguyen (Fort Walton Beach, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Human Geography: Culture, Society, and Space (Hardcover)

First off, let me say that currently I'm a 9th grader that is taking the AP Human Geography course at my school. This is only the third year the AP program has offered this course, and only the first year (I believe,) and I am so glad that our school picked this book.

De Blij presents the information in such a way that it is understandable by high school students, and yet it still retains a very intellectual atmosphere throughout the textbook. He also presents the information in an unbiased context. And during units on religion, and culture (major parts of Human Geography) he doesn't try to preach a religion, or express a bias toward any one.

The information in the textbook is also very accurate and reliable. And during times when there is no exact "right" answer, you won't have to worry about getting a completely rejected view in the academic world, since H.J. de Blij is a highly respected academic.

I could go on and on about how great Human Geography: Culture, Society and Space is, but you can find out more about it by getting the book. I really enjoyed reading it (though I still have a couple more chapters to go), and with the AP Human Geography test looming on May 5, I feel very well prepared for it. If you will be taking the AP Human Geography course in the upcoming year, I highly recommend you to request your school to purchase this book as the main textbook for use. And if your school won't get it, I would still recommend you to purchase it on your own. It's worth every dollar of it. And if you aren't, and your a college student taking a Human Geography course, this book would still be a great study tool.

Oh, and wish me and everyone else taking the AP Human Geography test on May 5!