"Michael Woods has taken on the formidable task of giving an overview of rural places and society in advanced economies as a single author and has presented a book that rightly deserves to be called state-of-the-art."<br /><b><i>- Geographische Rundschau <p></p><p></p></i></b><p>"For those students with an interest in rural change, this 'state of the art' book is essential reading." - <b><i>Brian Ilbery, University of Coventry<p></p></i><p>"With <b>Rural Geography</b> Michael Woods remedies the often underestimated dynamism of rural places and rural society by providing the much-needed synthesis of the European and North American literature on rural restructuring and globalization processes." -<b><i> Patrick H. Mooney, University of Kentucky<p></p></i><p>Rural Geography is an introduction to contemporary rural societies and economies in the developed world. It examines the social and economic processes at work in the contemporary countryside - including the more traditional: like agriculture; land use; and population; as well as wider themes like: rural health, crime, exclusion, commodification, and alternative lifestyles. With a contextualising section defining the rural, the text is organized systematically in three principal sections: Processes of Rural Restructuring, Responses to Rural Restructuring, and Experiences of Rural Restructuring.</p></b></p></b></p><p></p><p>Using the most recent empirical material, statistical data, and research, the text is global in perspective using comparative examples throughout. <b>Rural Geography</b> is a systematic introduction to the processes, responses, and experiences of rural restructuring. </p>