This publication, better known as the Reader, gathers an exceptionally gifted group of thinkers and activists, from the South and North that have long pondered important questions on economic development. They are diverse in background and experience, but have a common goal to see through the rhetoric of development, free from the distorting lenses of ideology and habit. They are also interested in looking at the story from a different perspective, particularly from the ‘losers’ point of view. These orientations make the Reader a very spectacular compilation. The contributors talk about the thinking and practice of modern day development that has contributed to disintegrate and destroy the economy. Most importantly, in terms of the future, they present some of the experiences and ideas out of which ordinary people are attempting to construct alternatives to development which may provide useful signpost to those who are concerned with the post-development era that is now at hand.