Introduction to Contemporary Geography

With an innovative integration of visuals, text, and spatial graphics, Introduction to Contemporary Geography presents a modular and highly graphical springboard to introductory geography—ideal for contemporary students and learning styles. This innovative new resource partners best-selling human geography author Jim Rubenstein with environmental and physical geographer Bill Renwick, economic/political/cultural geographer Carl Dahlman, and the information architects at Dorling Kindersley (DK). The authors’ approachable prose and DK’s bold visual style combine to engage students with little to no science background, encouraging them to become scientifically literate and responsible consumers, readers, and voters.

James M. Rubenstein received his PhD from Johns Hopkins University in 1975. His dissertation on French urban planning was later developed into a book entitled The French New Towns (Johns Hopkins University Press). In 1976 he joined the faculty at Miami University, where he is currently Professor of Geography. Besides teaching courses on urban and human geography and writing textbooks, Dr. Rubenstein also conducts research in the automotive industry and has published three books on the subject, The Changing U.S. Auto Industry: A Geographical Analysis (Routledge); Making and Selling Cars: Innovation and Change in the U.S. Auto Industry (The Johns Hopkins University Press); and Who Really Made Your Car? Restructuring and Geographic Change in the Auto Industry (W.E. Upjohn Institute, with Thomas Klier). Rubenstein’s The Cultural Landscape 10e is the bestselling text for both AP and college human geography classes, and his innovative Contemporary Human Geography is the most successful new title in human geography in years.

William H. Renwick earned a BA from Rhode Island College and a PhD in geography from Clark University. He has taught at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Rutgers University and is currently Associate Professor of Geography at Miami University. A physical geographer with interests in geomorphology and environmental issues, his research focuses on impacts of land-use change on rivers and lakes, particularly in agricultural landscapes in the Midwest. He is co-author of Pearson’s Introduction to Geography 5e.

Carl T. Dahlman earned degrees in sociology, music, and urban affairs before receiving his PhD in geography from the University of Kentucky in 2001. He is Associate Professor of Geography at Miami University, where his teaching focuses on political geography, migration and mobility, and globalization. His current research includes the role of European integration in the geopolitics of Southeastern Europe. He is co-author of Pearson’s Introduction to Geography 5e.