Applied Geography (1986). 6, 275-277

Book reviews

Thrall. C. 1. (ed.) Scienrifc geography series. Beverley Hills, Calif.: Sage, 1981.f5.50 paperback (each vol.).

Vol. I. King, L. J. Centralplace rheory. 96 pp. Vol. 2. Haynes. K. E. and Fotheringham, A. S. Gravity and sparial inreracrion models. 88 pp. Vol. 3. Webber, hl. J. Industrial location. 96 pp.

These three booklets are the first to be published in a new ‘scientific geography series’. Each volume has about 90 pages. They are intended to be used as classroom texts and as reference books for researchers and professionals. The series is clearly aimed at the North American market since most of the examples and all the sources of data referred to in the first three booklets are from the United States

and/or Canada. Nevertheless, if the clarity and easy-to-read style of these volumes is maintained the series could appeal more widely.

The choice of topics is, however, critical.

Whereas the first two volumes, on central place theory and gravity and spatial interaction models, are clearly defined discrete topics which can be introduced adequately in 90 pages, the editor has presented Webber with a much more difficult task in the third volume on industrial location, a far broader subject on which whole courses are commonly given. It is not surprising that this volume is the most introductory and selective of the three. The list of references is also far shorter. The bulk of the test focuses on least-cost theory, concentrating on transport costs, production costs and agglomeration. He argues that whereas transport costs have declined in significance, labour costs and, to a lesser extent, agglomeration have become the main influences on industrial location. Relatively little attention is given to the importance of technological change, while the

concentration on North America leads to only a brief consideration of the role of government. Perhaps most surprising is that despite identifying

the nature of organizational structure and changes in the introduction, the implications for industrial location and regional development are not developed later. Shortage of space leads the author to admit on the last page a failure to treat adequately such issues as the internationalization of production and industry structure. The need to take on board additional factors is illustrated by three very brief case studies of the aircraft parts industry in New England, industrial decline in the United Kingdom and the location of manufactur- ing in cities.

King provides a useful guide to the main features of the literature of central place theory. After introducing the main theoretical statements of

Christaller and Losch, the author reviews applica- tions of central place ideas including not only the usual references to studies of the American Mid- west and Washington State, but also discussion of commercial hierarchies within metropolitan areas, the diffusion of innovations and anthropologica!

studies of social structures. Mention is also madeof the attempts to use central place notions in the fashioning of regional development plans in both developed and developing economies. The final

substantive chapter introduces the reader to some of the more recent developments of central place theory while avoiding their formal mathematical

treatments. Haynes and Fotheringham take a more practical

approach in their volume. After introducing and comparing the main types of gravity model they review their application in marketing analyses, illustrating the range of applications with six worked examples. The volume ends with a dis- cussion of the data available in North America for use in studies of commodity flows, interurban passenger movements, inrraurban transportation and migration.

The overall impression left after reading these three volumes is that the authors and editor still strongly believe in the value of a scientific approach to spatial analysis. Much of what they say could have been written in the 1960s and early 1970s. Indeed 70 per cent of the references cited were published IO or more years ago. While King notes that the enthusiasm for this approach has waned

considerably and W’ebber emphasizes that industrial location reflects the economic character of society, the criticisms of spatial analysis and the

contributions of alternative approaches are largely ignored. The series could, nevertheless, provide a

useful guide to an important set of ideas in the development of geography, but on their own they will not provide a balanced diet for the under- graduate in the late 1980s.

Michael Healey Deparrmenr of Geography, Covenrry (Lanchesler) Polytechnic

Taylor, ,%I. (ed.) The geograph_v of Ausrralian corporate power. London: Croom Helm, 1985.

230 pp.

During the past few years, Michael Taylor has made substantial contributions to industrial geography in general and to that of Australia in particular. In this volume he has gathered together a series of papers initially delivered to a Regional