The Social Significance of Health Promotion sets health promotion in its historical context and delineates its contemporary role. It explores the potential of health promotion to impact on our social values and sense of community.

The book begins by exploring the historical roots of health promotion and its relationship to the medical model of health. It moves on to present analyses of contemporary health promotion programmes in which the contributors are actively engaged. These chapters discuss current questions for health promotion from a practitioner perspective and from the point of view of their social impact. They cover a wide range of topical issues such as exclusion and inclusion, the mental health of children, the role of alternative medicine, and health in the workplace.

Emphasising the centrality of empowerment, participation and advocacy to an effective health promotion programme, The Social Significance of Health Promotion brings students and health professionals right up to date with the latest initiatives and theories.

'In the light of impending environmental catastrophe, people all over the world, in all walks of life, are becoming more aware of the pressing need to act globally. The need to base our decisions and actions less on parochial national advantage, sequestered in hate and suspicion of other nation's playing the same game of Russian roulette, have to give way to a new appreciation of the fact that our global village is indeed so very small and perilously frail. We depend upon one another as never before and, unless we insure the health and human rights of all, we shall surely each perish individually...' In "Health, Human Rights and the United Nations", Theodore H MacDonald carefully analyses the origin, development and structure of the United Nations (UN) and its key agencies, and considers its capacity to mediate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He takes a detailed look into human rights abuses in Sudan's Darfur province, Burma, Liberia, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the United Kingdom. By investigating the development of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the pressures being brought to bear upon it, MacDonald exposes contradictions in the aims of both the WHO and the UN. Does the current global political scene and its neoliberal policies nullify the work of both? Is the UN fit for purpose? Can drastic reforms result in equitable solutions? Can a new trans-national body be developed, to arbitrate global trade, health, human rights and fiscal issues? This remarkable book is ideal for anyone interested in international law, human rights, global health, public health and health promotion. Public health and health promotion professionals, including international healthcare organisations, care agencies, and international charities will find the analysis enlightening. It is also of great interest to policy makers and shapers in communities and government, political activists and all those with an interest in equality and globalisation.

Ron Ridenour, the celebrated writer on Cuban and Central American politics, has published a new expanded edition of his book, Cuba: Beyond the Crossroads. Tje book has been updated to cover Fidel Castro's withdrawal from power during his long illness in 2007. His other books include Cuba: A "Yankee" Reports, Backfire: The CIA's Biggest Burn, Cuba at the Crossroads and Yankee Sandinistas. A committed revolutionary, anti-war activist, and supporter of the Cuban revolution, Ridenour's book gathers report and accounts of his extended journey in Cuba in 2006, together with up-to-date analysis of Cuba today. It has already generated widespead controversy. The selections below give a flavour of the book. "Regardless of whether of not Cuba has achieved socialism - it is a long process, after all - the Cuban people and its government are more than worthy of our love and support. They have done no harm to the world and they have helped many millions of people in many lands. They have held out against "the enemy of humanity" to quote from the Sandinista anthem. In so doing, they have held out hope for billions of us." "The main hindrance to worker control, to real socialism, is the world domination by capitalism and imperialism. The fact that the United States lays but 150 kilometers away is the greatest hindrance. I believe, however, that if the Cuban leadership had had more trust in the working class back in the mid-60s, once US military attacks were turned back and the internal counter-revolution defeated, it would have gradually turned over to the workers significant say in productive relations and in making local and national policies."

How was frontier expansion rationalized in the Americas during the late nineteenth century? As new states fleshed out expanded national maps, how did they represent their advances? Were there any distinct pan-American patterns? The renowned anthropologist and human rights advocate David Maybury-Lewis saw the Latin American frontiers as relatively unknown physical spaces as well as unexplored academic territory. He invited eight specialists to explore public narratives of the expansion of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and the western regions of Canada and the United States during the late nineteenth century, a time when those who then identified as Americans claimed territories in which indigenous peoples, who were now seen as economic and political obstacles, lived. The authors examine the narrative forms that stirred or rationalized expansion, and emphasize their impact on the native residents.

The authors illustrate the variety and the similarities of these nationalist ideas and experiences, which were generally expressed in symbolic and cultural terms rather than on simple materialist or essentialist grounds. The cases also point out that civic nationalism, often seem as inclusive and more benign than ethnic nationalism, can produce similarly destructive human and cultural ends. The essays thus suggest a view of nationalism as a theoretical concept, and of frontier expansion as a historical phenomenon.

This remarkable book offers enlightening reading for everyone interested in international law, human rights, global health, public health and health promotion. Public health and health promotion professionals, including international healthcare organisations, care agencies, and international charities will find the analysis illuminating. It is also of great interest to policy makers and shapers in communities and government, political activists and all those with an interest in equality and globalisation.

The indigenous people of the hemisphere have resisted a five-hundred-year assault, fighting to maintain their cultural identities. During this time, authorities in the Americas have insisted that the toleration of indigenous societies and cultures would undermine their respective states. In recent years, however, the nations of the Americas have started to reverse themselves. They are altering their constitutions and proclaiming themselves multiethnic. Why is this happening now? "The Politics of Ethnicity: Indigenous Peoples in Latin American States," edited by David Maybury-Lewis, helps us understand the reasons and history behind these times of transition.

The book provides a valuable overview of current problems facing indigenous peoples in their relation with national states in Latin America, from the highlands of Mexico to the jungles of Brazil. The traditional, sometimes centuries old, relations between states and indigenous peoples are now changing and being rediscussed. The collection, authored by U.S. and Latin American anthropologists using interdisciplinary approaches, enables the reader to understand these recent developments in a comparative framework. An ambitious and quite thorough collection, it is brought together skillfully by one of the discipline's maitre penseurs.

The Social Significance of Health Promotion sets health promotion in its historical context and delineates its contemporary role. It explores the potential of health promotion to impact on our social values and sense of community.

The book begins by exploring the historical roots of health promotion and its relationship to the medical model of health. It moves on to present analyses of contemporary health promotion programmes in which the contributors are actively engaged. These chapters discuss current questions for health promotion from a practitioner perspective and from the point of view of their social impact. They cover a wide range of topical issues such as exclusion and inclusion, the mental health of children, the role of alternative medicine, and health in the workplace.

Emphasising the centrality of empowerment, participation and advocacy to an effective health promotion programme, The Social Significance of Health Promotion brings students and health professionals right up to date with the latest initiatives and theories.

Great and increasing inequities exist between the peoples of the Third World and those of the First. As well, we find ourselves threatened by imminent environmental catastrophes largely as a result of trying to maintain such inequities. This clear and straightforward text explains the complex origins of such bodies as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and others, and demonstrates the extent to which they exacerbate the problem. The situation is now so grave that we can no longer afford the luxury of leaving it to the professionals. We are all involved. We find ourselves hearing daily news reports of wars, starvation, the HIV/AIDS pandemic and natural disasters, rendered worse by inadequate international responses. The United Nations, once seen as an effective arbiter and mediator in such matters, now finds itself unable to exercise authority adequately. Third World Health: hostage to First World Wealth adopts a positive approach and puts forward various ways in which people at all levels can become more involved. It addresses the pivotal issue of health in the Third World and argues that it is very much hostage to the globalization of trade by and for the benefit of First World agencies.

This work includes forewords by Senator Noel A Kinsella and John A Gibson, respectively Speaker, Canadian Senate; Barrister at Law and Principal, International Refugee Consulting. This is a book based on what the Charter of the UN states about health as a basic human right. General readers will find a refreshing, up-to-date account of why these issues are so crucial, while professionals will find the cogent epidemiological analyses needed to inform research efforts. The book argues that the major causes of ill-health are not bacteria and viruses, or even war and natural disasters, but poverty. If we could solve the immensely complex problems of global inequities in wealth, the health inequities would largely vanish. The issue is not a simple one. This book sets out, among other things, to break down the communication barriers between the 'professionals' (doctors, economists and international bankers) and the ordinary person who looks with dismay at international injustice but feels totally inadequate in the face of it. The book argues that neoliberal approaches to global finance and international trade, which are inextricably linked to the looming environmental crisis, are not the only way open to us, and suggests alternatives. Above all, it offers hope and a useful role for all of us in solving the problems. Theodore H MacDonald's previous books have won international acclaim. To this new title he brings to bear the fruits of years of experience as a medical doctor, teacher and researcher in some of the poorest countries in the world. This book is provocative and will inspire informed action on the part of all of us. "The passion, conviction and wealth of knowledge of this work's author are evident. His ability as a communicator in conjunction with a tempered expertise held by few enables him to identify, analyze and provide his reflection on the right to health and its relation to global economics. The content and style of the writing reflects MacDonald's impressive experiential background. Theodore Macdonald is known internationally as a leader in the promotion of the human right to health. Not only does this work have great heuristic value, it also serves as an example of how the efforts of one remarkable individual can address the concerns of millions." - Noel A Kinsella, in his Foreword. "Optimistic, clear and concise. [The book] greatly informs a lay reader like myself. Arguments are invariably backed up by hard empirical data drawn from a range of authoritative sources. [This book] significantly adds to the understanding of health as a fundamental human right, the content of that right and what must be done to ensure that it can become a reality for the millions who presently lack even an acceptable standard of primary health care. The reader is left with a clear message; unless we evaluate alternatives to existing structures to bring about qualitative change in health outcomes in the developing world, environmental disaster fuelled by war and international chaos is our probable destiny. I am honoured to have been asked to write this forward and enthusiastically recommend it to anyone with an interest in the future of mankind." - John A Gibson, in his Foreword.