Thomas R. Shannon.  AN INTRODUCTION TO THE WORLD SYSTEM
PERSPECTIVE.  2nd ed. Boulder:  Westview Press, 1996.  xvii
+ 253 pp. ISBN 0-8133-2451-3, $59.95 (hardcover); ISBN
0-8133-2452-1, $19.95 (paper).

Reviewed by Frances V. Moulder, Social Sciences Department,
Three Rivers Community-Technical College, Norwich,
Connecticut, USA

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE WORLD SYSTEM PERSPECTIVE is the
second edition of a text first published in 1989.  The
author's objective, as stated in the Preface to the first
edition, is to "provide students with an accessible
introduction to world system theory that is firmly embedded
in history." Although aimed at undergraduates, the book
will also be of interest to graduate students and others who
are looking for a guide into the large amount of theoretical
and empirical work in the field.

The book covers the following topics:  origins of world
system theory; defining characteristics of the world
system; history of the world system; structure of the
present world system; processes of change; contemporary
developments in world system analysis; criticisms of world
system theory; and the author's own evaluation of the
perspective.  Changes from the first edition include
addition of a chapter on "New Directions in World
System Analysis,"  and various revisions to reflect
changes in the periphery and semi-periphery, dismantling of
the Soviet Union, and the end of the Cold War.  Shannon also
states in the Preface to the second edition that he has
attempted to "correct some unintentionally harsh
statements in my final evaluation of the perspective that
seem to have misled readers about where my general
theoretical sympathies lie."

A strength of this book as a textbook is that it attempts
to address comprehensively the entire range of concerns of
world system analysis. Most of the other available
undergraduate texts are more narrowly focused on the
economic development of the periphery (e.g. John Isbister,
PROMISES NOT KEPT; Philip McMichael, DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL
CHANGE; Alvin Y. So, SOCIAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT) or on
specific world issues (e.g. York W. Bradshaw and Michael
Wallace, GLOBAL INEQUALITIES).

In contrast, Shannon deals systematically with the core and
semi-periphery, as well as the periphery, and with a range
of concerns, including methodological questions, the issue
of pre-modern world systems, hegemonic struggles, the
decline of core nations, etc.

The new chapter on "New Directions in World System
Analysis" is a definite enhancement.  It deals with
the analysis of race, gender and culture in the world
system; methodological issues; and the debates over the
existence and nature of earlier world systems.  This
chapter demonstrates the continued growth and vitality of
the world system perspective.  I hope that Shannon will
expand the chapter in future editions to include efforts
underway to apply the perspective in other areas such as
analysis of the environment, urbanization and social
movements.

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Shannon's chapters on the defining characteristics and
history of the world system are especially useful.  I know
of no other source with so much of the relevant information
so clearly stated for an undergraduate audience. I used the
first edition several times in courses for advanced
undergraduates.  Students were invariably grateful to
Shannon for helping them understand the history of the
world as a coherent system rather than as a confusing array
of disconnected or random events and personalities.

Shannon has worked to make the book accessible to student
readers.  He states in the Preface to the first edition,
"I have...avoided assuming very much prior background
on the part of the reader.  I have learned that one cannot
assume even the most basic historical or geographic
knowledge when addressing an undergraduate
audience."  Despite these efforts, the text is
probably best suited to well-prepared, higher level
students -- advanced undergraduates and graduate
students.  In my experience, those who have not taken some
combination of college-level courses in economics, history
and sociology find this book somewhat overwhelming, rather
than challenging. For example, the chapters on history,
although lucid, are still too abstract for readers with
little knowledge of world history.  Other chapters require
a prior introduction to economic terminology.  For example,
the following concepts are introduced without explanation in
chapter 1, "The Origins of World System Theory" --
commercialization, capital investment, infrastructure,
subcomponents, industrialization, etc. In fairness to
Shannon, the book's failure to be more accessible to less
advanced undergraduates is partly an outcome of the book's
topic, i.e. it is a book about the world system
PERSPECTIVE, not a book about the WORLD SYSTEM.  Since the
world system perspective is a revision of prior thinking in
most of the social sciences, it cannot be fully appreciated
without knowledge of the thinking it has rejected or
synthesized in a new way.  If someone were to attempt to
write an accessible undergraduate text on the WORLD SYSTEM,
they would be freer to write for a wider audience.
Interestingly, such books are beginning to appear at the
K-12 level!  (See, for example, Iftikhar Ahmad et al.,
WORLD CULTURES:  A GLOBAL MOSAIC.  This is a social studies
text for middle school students which contains insights from
the world system perspective (Prentice Hall, 1993).  Ahmad
is a researcher at the Fernand Braudel Center and has a
Ph.D. in Sociology from Binghamton University.)

In sum, Shannon's book is a fine text for advanced
undergraduate courses emphasizing the world system
perspective, and an excellent reference for graduate
students and others interested in the perspective.  I trust
that it will be a popular text, and hope Shannon will
continue to update the book and keep it in print for future
use.

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