This book was assigned for a class on environmental public policy, and I think it's the worst textbook I've ever had. The sections are badly ordered and repetitive, and the usage of constant acronymns prevents the book from being readable. There are certain parts that are far more clear than others, such as the section on global forests. But on the whole, the book reads like it was rushed into printing.

I came across this book in a Washingon, D.C. bookstore and consumed the entire thing in a matter of days. It's both lucid and insightful. Interest in so-called international environmental issues is high these days, but very few books are available that even attempt to define what such issues are, much less describe them as a group and relate them to one another. This book is in a class by itself. Not only does it discuss and provide fascinating insight into specific areas of international environmental policy, from global warming to international forestry conservation, but also it relates these areas to one another within a single, coherent and robust theoretical framework. The authors display not only a detailed practical knowledge of the policy issues they discuss, but also higher level insight into characteristics that connect disparate policy areas to one another. This is not just interesting; it's of immense practical usefulness. Even without a detailed knowledge of all the specific topics (and acronyms) it addresses, this book is well worth the money of anyone interested in international environmental policy.