Berkeley Planning Journal

If lhe chapters of Saskia Sassen's newest book Globalization and itsDiscontents sound familiar, they may be: lhe book is a compendium of many of her previously published essays on topics surrounding lhe social effects of globalization. The ten essays were originally published between 1984 and 1998 in publications as diverse as the Urban Technology Journal and the Yale Law Journal. Sassen, a recognized expert in the field, takes on disparate and complex issues in each essay. The resulting chapters offer an original and meticulously argued approach for exploring the socio-political ramifications of globalization on the laws and boundaries of what Sassen calls "global cities". The book, however, is better at observation lhan solution, offering little insight into how better policies could help prevent or mitigate the myriad of problems identified.