This book is an ambitious collection of 12 separate papers by different authors from Australia, New Zealand and China. Each paper addresses the effects of globalization (and other factors) on agricultural and general development, on a case study basis, covering a specific country or group of countries in the Asia-Pacific region. As farming becomes more integrated into global networks of input supply, production, marketing and investment, the effects are highly variable between states due to natural factors, policies and their stage of general development. Whilst this is an attempt to compare countries, it is difficult to isolate the effects of globalization alone since they are often linked with other parallel factors such as technical change (e.g. GM crops) or socio-economic trends (e.g. urbanization). Each chapter (or country) therefore deals with the issue differently so the book should be considered as a series of stand-alone analyses, by country, rather than an overview of the region. The book is still a useful reference, although the depth of analysis varies between case studies.

One-fifth is devoted to Australia and New Zealand, and two-fifths to India and China. The remainder concerns seven ASEAN states including a chapter on Southeast Asia's megacities. The book ends with two general chapters on the environmental effects of globalization on soils, water, biodiversity and human populations. Problems are highlighted rather than solutions given.

The book is well-referenced throughout, with much new material. It is suitable for inclusion in University courses in agriculture, development studies and economic geography. Individual chapters provide up-to-date reference material for any reader interested in recent developments in agriculture for a particular country or region.