Alan Gilbert – författare

We commonly think of the American Revolution as simply the war for independence from British colonial rule. But, of course, that independence actually applied to only a portion of the American population - African Americans would still be bound in slavery for nearly another century. Alan Gilbert asks us to rethink what we know about the Revolutionary War, to realize that while white Americans were fighting for their freedom, many black Americans were joining the British imperial forces to gain theirs. Further, a movement led by sailors - both black and white - pushed strongly for emancipation on the American side. There were actually two wars being waged at once: a political revolution for independence from Britain and a social revolution for emancipation and equality. Gilbert presents persuasive evidence that slavery could have been abolished during the Revolution itself if either side had fully pursued the military advantage of freeing slaves and pressing them into combat, and his extensive research also reveals that free blacks on both sides played a crucial and under appreciated role in the actual fighting.Black Patriots and Loyalists contends that the struggle for emancipation was not only basic to the Revolution itself, but was a rousing force that would inspire freedom movements like the abolition societies of the North and the black loyalist pilgrimages for freedom in Nova Scotia and Sierra Leone.

This ground-breaking work employs survey data and in-depth interviews to compile a detailed picture of landlords and tenants in developing countries. Focusing on Mexico the authors examine the state's housing policy, with its clear bias towards increasing home ownership, and explores the possibilities of improving the quality and increasing the stock of rented accommodation in the developing World.

Originally published in 1985, this book is concerned with the housing and service needs of the poor in Latin America and how they are articulated and satisfied. It examines the aims and implementation of government policies towards low-income housing dwellers and tries to relate those policies to the wider interests of the state. It discusses how the poor perceive the constraints on barrio servicing and improvement, their involvement in community organisations and the role the community and its leaders play in influencing state action. Since housing and servicing issues directly impinge on the interests of politicians, bureaucrats, landowners and real-estate developers, as well as on those of the poor, patterns of provision mirror closely the nature of the relationships between the poor and the wider urban society. The main theme of this book is thus the allocation of resources within urban society and the operation of political and administrative power at city level. The book will interest not only those concerned with housing and planning but also those who wish to understand social and economic policies towards the poor in most kinds of Third World city.

This ambitious and sweeping book presents a powerful argument against moral relativism and in favor of the objectivity of a theory of democratic individuality. Unlike much recent work in this field, the book does not simply adumbrate such a view. Rather, it develops the parallels between various versions of scientific and moral realism, and then reinterprets the history and internal logic of democratic theory, maintaining, for example, that the abolition of slavery represents genuine moral progress. The book also recasts the clashes between Marxist and Weberian, radical and liberal sociologies in the light of these moral claims, and sketches the institutions of a radical democracy.

As each power vies for its national interests on the world stage, how do its own citizens' democratic interests fare at home? Alan Gilbert speaks to an issue at the heart of current international-relations debate. He contends that, in spite of neo-realists' assumptions, a vocal citizen democracy can and must have a role in global politics. Further, he shows that all the major versions of realism and neo-realism, if properly stated with a view of the national interest as a common good, surprisingly lead to democracy. His most striking example focuses on realist criticisms of the Vietnam War. Democratic internationalism, as Gilbert terms it, is really the linking of citizens' interests across national boundaries to overcome the antidemocratic actions of their own governments. Realist misinterpretations have overlooked Thucydides' theme about how a democracy corrupts itself through imperial expansion as well as Karl Marx's observations about the positive effects of democratic movements in one country on events in others. Gilbert also explodes the democratic peace myth that democratic states do not wage war on one another.He suggests instead policies to accord with the interests of ordinary citizens whose shared bond is a desire for peace. Gilbert shows, through such successes as recent treaties on land mines and policies to slow global warming that citizen movements can have salutary effects. His theory of "deliberative democracy" proposes institutional changes that would give the voice of ordinary citizens a greater influence on the international actions of their own government.

Originally published in 1993, In Search of a Home filled a conspicuous gap in the literature on housing in the developing world at the time. For many years, self-help settlement and the owner-occupier had commanded the attention of governments and researchers, leaving huge numbers of tenants and sharers invisible. However, the assumption that every family both wished and was able to become an owner-occupier was now under scrutiny and it was becoming clear in many of the larger Latin American cities that there was a limit to universal home ownership, even of the self-help kind. Several governments in the developing world had expressed concern about the rental housing market, which had long been neglected at the policy level. Research activity had begun to respond to these changes, and this book put the spotlight on rental and shared housing.Based on three large surveys carried out by research teams from Caracas, Mexico City and Santiago, the book investigates the nature of owners, tenants, sharers and landlords, and explores the relationships between them. It considers both government policy and the reasons why rental housing was in decline.In Search of a Home is intended for government planners, social scientists and students of development - particularly those concerned about urbanization and the housing of the poor. It is relevant not only to Latin America but also to many other parts of the developing world where large numbers of families live in rental accommodation.

Originally published in 1993, In Search of a Home filled a conspicuous gap in the literature on housing in the developing world at the time. For many years, self-help settlement and the owner-occupier had commanded the attention of governments and researchers, leaving huge numbers of tenants and sharers invisible. However, the assumption that every family both wished and was able to become an owner-occupier was now under scrutiny and it was becoming clear in many of the larger Latin American cities that there was a limit to universal home ownership, even of the self-help kind. Several governments in the developing world had expressed concern about the rental housing market, which had long been neglected at the policy level. Research activity had begun to respond to these changes, and this book put the spotlight on rental and shared housing.Based on three large surveys carried out by research teams from Caracas, Mexico City and Santiago, the book investigates the nature of owners, tenants, sharers and landlords, and explores the relationships between them. It considers both government policy and the reasons why rental housing was in decline.In Search of a Home is intended for government planners, social scientists and students of development - particularly those concerned about urbanization and the housing of the poor. It is relevant not only to Latin America but also to many other parts of the developing world where large numbers of families live in rental accommodation.

Originally published in 1993, In Search of a Home filled a conspicuous gap in the literature on housing in the developing world at the time. For many years, self-help settlement and the owner-occupier had commanded the attention of governments and researchers, leaving huge numbers of tenants and sharers invisible. However, the assumption that every family both wished and was able to become an owner-occupier was now under scrutiny and it was becoming clear in many of the larger Latin American cities that there was a limit to universal home ownership, even of the self-help kind. Several governments in the developing world had expressed concern about the rental housing market, which had long been neglected at the policy level. Research activity had begun to respond to these changes, and this book put the spotlight on rental and shared housing.Based on three large surveys carried out by research teams from Caracas, Mexico City and Santiago, the book investigates the nature of owners, tenants, sharers and landlords, and explores the relationships between them. It considers both government policy and the reasons why rental housing was in decline.In Search of a Home is intended for government planners, social scientists and students of development – particularly those concerned about urbanization and the housing of the poor. It is relevant not only to Latin America but also to many other parts of the developing world where large numbers of families live in rental accommodation.

This ground-breaking work employs survey data and in-depth interviews to compile a detailed picture of landlords and tenants in developing countries. Focusing on Mexico the authors examine the state''s housing policy, with its clear bias towards increasing home ownership, and explores the possibilities of improving the quality and increasing the stock of rented accommodation in the developing World.

This ground-breaking work employs survey data and in-depth interviews to compile a detailed picture of landlords and tenants in developing countries. Focusing on Mexico the authors examine the state''s housing policy, with its clear bias towards increasing home ownership, and explores the possibilities of improving the quality and increasing the stock of rented accommodation in the developing World.

Poetry is an ageless form of art. It speaks to our soul, gives rise to a myriad of emotions, and lays a foundation of intellectual stimulation that lasts long after we finish reading. Alan Gilbert delivers such fine poetry in his collection, All that Rhymes with Love.Influenced not only by the poets of the Romantic Era, but also more contemporary writers such as Phillip Larkin, Gilbert has developed a unique way of exploring evocative poetry in his range and style. Focusing on the main theme of love, Gilbert explores the incredible range of feelings from joy to sorrow associated with this all-encompassing emotion. Using lively, fun language, Gilbert creates an incredible tribute to love in all its varied stages. In Make Me a Butterfly, he shows how this delicate, winged creature personifies a devoted suitor waiting for his love to realize the truth of his feelings for her. Loves Senses takes a delightful turn in describing the different sensory aspects of love while Reflections focuses on an imagined conversation between a man and the mirror over his lover.Selected to appeal to a wide diversity of ages and tastes, the poetry in All that Rhymes with Love will challenge and inspire you to explore the most basic of all human emotions: love.

Since the 19S0s, Latin America has been transformed from a rural to an urban society. The region now contains some of the world''s biggest cities, headed by Mexico City with its 20 million inhabitants. In all but five Latin American countries, more people now live in towns and cities than in the countryside. This mass movement from country to city has put enormous strain on the infrastructure and services of cities such as Bogota and Caracas. Conditions continue to worsen as governments cut back social spending in their structural adjustment programmes.The Latin American City looks at the region''s urban explosion from the perspective of the poor. It asks why people are attracted to the city and examines the underlying problem of rural poverty which fuels the exodus. It explores the options open to those arriving in the city and the strategies used in order to acquire land and build a home. Highlighting the role of the informal sector in urban survival, it also explains how popular organisation and protest can result in improved living standards for the poor.

This study presents a comprehensive account of Third World urbanization by reaching across disciplinary boundaries and regional specializations. It discusses the evolution of Third World cities as part of the world system; the nature of urban and regional disparities within countries; the causes and patterns of rural-urban migration; the structure of urban labour markets and the lack of productive employment; the urban housing market and popular responses to it; urban ways of life and the adaptation of migrants; various patterns of political conflict; and current issues in urban and regional planning. The book does not aim to be neutral in its review of different ideas and strategies and is sometimes provocative. It reviews and criticizes the principal ideas relating to development and urbanization drawing on both liberal and Marxist perspectives in an effort to relate urban phenomena to the process of development in an unequal world. At the same time it is cognizant of the fact that major economic and cultural differences exist within the Third World; because these variations are so great it argues that no single response to the urbanization process can be devised.This work should be of interest to all those concerned with development problems in the social sciences and in urban and regional planning.