"This book deals in a scholarly but easily read way with many of the questions we are now debating..." David Donnison in Scottish Review "Part biography, part manifesto, part a work of research and scholarship, this book is in a fascinating genre of its own. Based on the ideas of the late Peter Townsend, it makes an elegant and powerful contribution to debates of major contemporary importance." Colin Crouch, Warwick Business School "Peter Townsend was the greatest British social scientist of the 20th Century. This book by leading experts, clearly explains Townsend's contribution to knowledge and how his ideas will influence research and policy in the future." David Gordon, Townsend Centre for International Poverty Research, University of Bristol