Book Review: Hamza Alavi, and Teodor Shanin, (editors), Introduction to the sociology of “developing societies”

Issues pertaining to development are not the sole domain of economists, a fact that members of the professional and academic economics fraternity have too often tended to forget. This book, the first of a highly commendable if somewhat ambitious nine volume series, sets out to show that if one is to understand the totality of the subject of “developing societies”, one must take into account the relevant contribution of sociologists, social an thropologists, historians, political scientists, literary critics, cultural commentators as well as economists. Pure economic explanations and under-standing of culturally, socially, and politically loaded concepts such as development and underdevelopment can no longer be considered sufficient.