Extended treatise on the world's arid regions and the social, ecological and geographical problems of resource management. With figures, photographs, drawing and charts.

Contents: Part One: Cultural and Social Problems. 1) Marion Clawson: Social and Institutional Obstacles to Agricultural Development of Arid Lands in the Middle East. 2) Manfred A. Max-Neef: Resource-Allocation Problems for the Development of Arid Zones. 3) Harland I. Padfield: Agrarian Capitalists and Urban Proletariat: The Policy of Alienation in American Agriculture. 4) James E. Officer: Arid-Lands Agriculture and the Indians of the American Southwest. 5) Rolf W. Bauer: The Papago Cattle Economy: Implications for Economic and Community Development in Arid Lands. 6) Balwant Singh Saini: Building Design and Planning for Self-sustaining Communities in Remote Localities of Australia's Arid Zone. 7) Bruce H. Anderson:
International Training: The Interamerican Center for Land and Water Resource Development: A Case Study. 8) Everett D. Eddington: Organization of Educational Programs in Sparsely Settled Areas of the World. 9) George F. Dales: Early Human Contacts from the Persian Gulf through Baluchistan and Southern Afghanistan.

Part Two: Land and Resource Use. 10) Robert N. Colwell, David M. Carneggie: Applications of Remote Sensing to Arid-Lands Problems. 11) Jerzy Lefeld: The Gobi Desert of Mongolia: Geographic Description and Prospects for Land Use on the Basis of Soil, Vegetation, Hydrology, and Climate. 12) Nina T. Nechayeva: Pastures and Sheep Production in the Arid Zone of the Soviet Union. 13) Carl B. Roubicek, Donald E. Ray: Range-Cattle Production under Dry, Warm Conditions. 14) Joe R. Goodin, Cyrus M. McKell: Shrub Productivity: A Reappraisal of Arid Lands. 15) Peter C. Duisberg, John L. Hay: Economic Botany of Arid Regions. 16) Thomas C. Tucker, Wallace H. Fuller: Soil Management: Humid versus Arid Areas.

Part Three: Water and Agriculture. 17) David J. Burdon: Exploitation of Groundwater for Agricultural Production in Arid Zones. 18) Lloyd E. Myers: Water Conservation for Food and Fiber Production in Arid Zones. 19) Michael Evenari, Leslie Shanan, Naphtali H. Tadmor: Runoff Agriculture in the Negev Desert of Israel. 20) Daniel Hillel: Artificial Inducement of Runoff as a Potential Source of Water in Arid Lands. 21) James W. O'Leary: Physiological Basis for Plant Growth Inhibition Due to Salinity. 22) Eduard J. Stadelmann: The Protoplasmic Basis for Drought Resistance: A Quantitative Approach for Measuring Protoplasmic Properties.

Part Four: Ecology of Arid Regions. 23) Mikhail P. Petrov: Sand-Stabilization Methods in Arid Lands: Protection of Agricultural and Settlement Areas. 24) Antonio J. Prego, Roberto A. Ruggiero, Florentino Rial Alberti, Federico J. Prohaska: Stabilization of Sand Dunes in the Semiarid Argentine Pampas. 25) Howard G. Applegate, Wayne Hanselka, Dudley D. Culley Jr.: Effect of Insecticides on an Ecosystem in the Northern Chihuahuan Desert.

Part Five: Information Sources. 26) Patricia Paylore: Arid-Lands Information in United States Government