This new book "Organics in the global food chain" is a long overdue scholarly treatment of organic food in its many derivations. It provides a multifaceted view of the obscure but growing concept of organic food in our food chain. Today's society has a greater appreciation of quality in what we eat and consume including a greater appreciation of sustainability, food security and the other attributes which food should provide society. This book explores the origins and drivers of organic food and opens up this sector to greater scrutiny and debate on the worthiness of organic food as an alternative to our normal staple diet.

..".the essays assembled in this volume edited by my old friend and first student, Gianfranco Cresciani, and by Bruno Mascitelli of Swinburne University in Melbourne. All the essays are in some sense focused on what some contemporaries might think is 'old fashioned political history'; there is no mention of emotions, food or dance. The themes are significant. The research is serious. Archives have been probed and detail from them is made available that was not public before. Australia and Italy may be quite a long way apart in 2013 and the gap between them may be increasing. Nonetheless they share quite a bit of history. Important aspects of it are recovered in this collection of essays. It is as much a part of Australian history as is more familiar tales about 'resistance' on the frontier, the growth of mining or the spread of 'Meals on Wheels' across the nation." -- Professor Richard Bosworth

At the end of the Second World War in 1945, which brought on a new Italian State, Italy's Foreign policy was first and foremost that of re-joining the new order of western alliances and playing a role in the re-building of a new Europe different from that which had brought war and conflict. The book "Italy and the European Union: A Rollercoaster Journey" seeks to bring to English language readers the manner in which Italy directed, approached and implemented its vision toward the new Europe. New visions and proposals emerged through champions such as Altiero Spinelli, Alcide De Gasperi, Robert Schuman and Jean Monnet. It was meant to be a new European journey, which would seek to put war and conflict behind it. Being an original member of the Coal and Steel Authority established in the early 1950s, Italy sought to become a player in the direction of European integration. However, it did so with significant distractions and hurdles-at times as a bystander and at other times as a prominent player. The presence of Franco-German leadership was in the first instance a vision but for Italy at times contentious. Equally, Italy was afflicted by its internal distractions and priorities, which were at times a threat to its stability and to its political institutions. At times Italy made significant contributions to the direction of the European journey much of which under the constant eye of ideological tensions in country. It was the country with the largest Communist Party in Western Europe within a bi-polar Cold War arrangement, which remained a constant source of suspicion and concern. From being a Europhile member state in the 1990s to one where Euroscepticism appears regularly, Italy remains ambivalent about its relationship with the European Union depending on the political party in government. This book seeks to provide the story on how and why these changing perceptions of the European Union occurred and what possible avenues awaits this country on its rollercoaster journey with the European Union.

This book looks at a number of contemporary issues in relation to the current role China plays in trade investments, especially outward investments, a fairly new phenomenon in Australia, Africa, and Europe, three major strategic destinations for China. Through Eurozone crisis, Chinese investments, and migration into Europe, the authors paint a new picture of the world with China, the dragon dancing in the centre of the stage with rotating dancing partners. They show a new perspective on the China-US relationship, especially through the case of Huawei, the new Chinese telecommunication giant who is consistently challenging the position of CISCO commercially and now politically. This book adds another tool to the tool box of those who are aiming to continue dealing, trading, and working with China and the Chinese.