Book Reviews 93 Are they now less important as people? — if people are important, why do they not have much of a say in the case histories which die authors discuss? — why does the reader increasingly get the impression diat training is something one 'does' to people, however hard die well-intentioned try to 'do' it? In his contribution in Part Four —"Who Calls the Tune — Training in a Changing Environment"— de Graaf raises some of diese questions but never really concludes diem. Other contributors — for example, diose who discuss appropriate technology, networking and die relationship between donor agencies and recipient organisations — touch on similar as well as odier problematic areas, but, again, in a somewhat irresolute manner. All die contributors stress die need to involve, motivate, conscientise, empower, network with and listen to trainees — they variously describe how training centres must proceed about dieir training in a fundamentally participatory and democratic manner (as Hlekweni has endeavoured to do). But one major question remains unanswered, as far as I can see. Can a training centre, given its very nature as an institution, as an organisation, comprised of buildings, timetables, staff, menus and mealtimes, structures and a physical and geographical rootedness, ever hope to achieve diis ideal? Probably not; and sadly the book does not give us one practical example of how a training centre has managed to break die mould, as it were. Perhaps diat was not its purpose — but so many contributions relating to dieories of training and development would have been well off-set by some papers describing real-life efforts to make people important in die manner prescribed by diose dieories. I am not a trainer, aldiough I find myself 'doing' it from time to time. Perhaps, dierefore, I am over-critical of a publication in which trainers may find die scope of the discussion and die issues raised of use in dunking about their approach to dieir work. All of us widi a commitment to development in diis country, however, should congratulate and thank our colleagues who contributed to diis book for doing what die rest of us never get around to — putting pen to paper, opening up die debate and drawing togedier die issues on die agenda. Hopefully diis is die first of many Zimbabwean publications about Zimbabwean development Reviewed by Frances Chinemana, Freelance Consultant, Harare. The Politics of Hunger (The Global Food System), John W Warnock, Mediuen & Co London (no price given). This is an excellent reference book for anyone interested in knowing why, despite all the advances in science and technology, hunger is still present in all countries including highly industrialised capitalist societies. The book 94 Bonk Rnnnes encompasses all aspects of nutrition, and interaction with population, agriculture, environment, economics, ideologies and development, in a readable manner, with plenty of references so that it is easy to find out why diere are problems of hunger everywhere in the world. The author proposes solutions in a provocative manner, providing some information on how different countries have tackled the situation of hunger. Although proposing solutions, he does not impose his ideas on the readers, but invites thought; what may be applicable in one country is unlikely to be applicable in all. The book is about food and combating hunger. So there are chapters about agriculture and economic development and their relationship in highly industrialised countries, and in countries in Latin America and Africa which are still developing. The author mentions the different ideological approaches to world hunger in Chapter 2. In Chapters 6 and 7 he talks about die industrial food system which exists in all states, but notes that the extent varies according to the degree of industrial development. This leads to die problems of unequal distribution of populations, and of land which can produce food easily because suitable soils, water and energy are all present. Chapter 8 is about the loss of food land-resources as seen particularly in the industrialised countries, and chapter 9 is a discussion on how much food the world can produce. Chapter 10 is entided Food and Agriculture under Capitalism, and Chapter 11 discusses the alternatives that are available for underdeveloped countries. The author does his best to put forward differing points of view and gives plenty of references. One weakness of this book is that is seeks to cover such a broad field dial generalisations arc inevitable. However, Zimbabwean social scientists and students could benefit from applying the knowledge within this book to the local scene. As the author says, countries are unequal in many forms, and, until modern communications and technology linked all countries more closely and made them more interdependent, their first need was to feed their own peoples. A basic staple, be it maize, rice, wheat, or potatoes, together with me;it m IKh. if ;m