Review of Nineteenth-Century Geographies: The Transformation of Space from the Victorian Age to the American Century, eds. H. Michie and R. Thomas

It is by now a banal observation that published collections of conference papers tend to add up to a whole that is considerably less than the sum of the parts. Nineteenth-Century Geographies, a book that grew out of an interdisciplinary conference held at Rice University in 1998 falls into this category. While assuring my readers that each individual contribution is independently worth a read is likewise a predictable cliché, it is in fact the case that every one of the 17 articles collected here—notwithstanding the rather convoluted Introduction—has much to offer the study, broadly speaking, of ‘cultural spaces’ of British and American imperialisms in the nineteenth century. . . . All of my complaints aside, this turns out to be a much more enjoyable book to read than to review, and I would recommend skimming and dipping at length. I cannot quite imagine when a read-through of this book might be called for, except perhaps in graduate seminars on related topics.

Explaining the Growth in Municipal Recycling Programs: The Role of Market and Non-Market Factors

The implementation of thousands of municipal recycling programs in the United States has increased recycling’s portion of solid waste from 10% to 30% over the past decade. But the lack of accurate data has spurred a debate over whether the growth in recycling can be attributed to market or nonmarket factors. To address this issue, this article conducts a benefit-cost analysis of a municipal recycling program. Results suggest recycling is costly. So why, then, does it remain popular? This article suggests that local governments could be responding to households that perceive a benefit from recycling services. These benefits are estimated with a contingent valuation survey.