Global Information Society

Mark I. Wilson is professor in the School of Planning, Design and Construction at Michigan State University. Aharon Kellerman is professor emeritus in the Department of Geography at the University of Haifa and president of Zefat Academic College, Israel. Kenneth E. Corey is professor in the Department of Geography and in the Urban and Regional Planning Program at Michigan State University.

This book, part of the 'Human Geography in the Twenty-First Century' series, is aptly titled. The underlying focus is the impact of society's new and vast ability to access information and communicate rapidly worldwide. The first part of the book primarily provides observational aspects of an information society and attempts to define those observations. The chapters in part 2, 'Mapping the Global Information Society,' discuss different geographic areas. This section is very important since the likely readership will be from the US, and getting an international perspective on the impact of information can be enlightening. The third section builds on the previous chapters to show the importance of good policy and planning. Readers may find the makeup of the authors unique. Wilson and Corey (both, Michigan State) and Kellerman (emer., Univ. of Haifa, Israel) have combined expertise in the fields of geography and urban/regional planning and design; their writing reflects their wide range of experience in these areas. The emphasis of the book is not necessarily on technology itself, but on analyzing the policy and planning behind the rollout of technological innovations and their impact on different regions of the world and different population subsets. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through researchers/faculty; general readers.

• Part I: Organization and Themes of the Global Information SocietyChapter 1: IntroductionChapter 2: Foundations of the Information SocietyChapter 3: Technologies and InfrastructuresChapter 4: Societal Dimensions of Mobility, Information, and Knowledge ProductionChapter 5: Individuals in the Information SocietyPart II: Mapping the Global Information SocietyChapter 6: Spatial Organization of the Global Information SocietyChapter 7: The AmericasChapter 8: EuropeChapter 9: Asia-PacificChapter 10: Africa and Middle EastPart III: Policy and Action for the Global Information SocietyChapter 11: PolicyChapter 12: The Global Information Society: Moving from What Is to What Should BePart IV: Support SectionChapter 13: Intelligent Development Planning CharretteReferences