Alan Gilbert

Originally published in 1993, In Search of a Home filled a conspicuous gap in the literature on housing in the developing world at the time. For many years, self-help settlement and the owner-occupier had commanded the attention of governments and researchers, leaving huge numbers of tenants and sharers invisible. However, the assumption that every family both wished and was able to become an owner-occupier was now under scrutiny and it was becoming clear in many of the larger Latin American cities that there was a limit to universal home ownership, even of the self-help kind. Several governments in the developing world had expressed concern about the rental housing market, which had long been neglected at the policy level. Research activity had begun to respond to these changes, and this book put the spotlight on rental and shared housing. Based on three large surveys carried out by research teams from Caracas, Mexico City and Santiago, the book investigates the nature of owners, tenants, sharers and landlords, and explores the relationships between them. It considers both government policy and the reasons why rental housing was in decline. In Search of a Home is intended for government planners, social scientists and students of development – particularly those concerned about urbanization and the housing of the poor. It is relevant not only to Latin America but also to many other parts of the developing world where large numbers of families live in rental accommodation.

We commonly think of the American Revolution as simply the war for independence from British colonial rule. But, of course, that independence actually applied to only a portion of the American population - African Americans would still be bound in slavery for nearly another century. Alan Gilbert asks us to rethink what we know about the Revolutionary War, to realize that while white Americans were fighting for their freedom, many black Americans were joining the British imperial forces to gain theirs. Further, a movement led by sailors - both black and white - pushed strongly for emancipation on the American side. There were actually two wars being waged at once: a political revolution for independence from Britain and a social revolution for emancipation and equality. Gilbert presents persuasive evidence that slavery could have been abolished during the Revolution itself if either side had fully pursued the military advantage of freeing slaves and pressing them into combat, and his extensive research also reveals that free blacks on both sides played a crucial and under appreciated role in the actual fighting. Black Patriots and Loyalists contends that the struggle for emancipation was not only basic to the Revolution itself, but was a rousing force that would inspire freedom movements like the abolition societies of the North and the black loyalist pilgrimages for freedom in Nova Scotia and Sierra Leone.

We commonly think of the American Revolution as simply the war for independence from British colonial rule. But that independence applied to only a portion of the American population-African Americans would still be bound in slavery for nearly another century. In "Black Patriots and Loyalists", Alan Gilbert asks us to rethink what we know about the Revolutionary War, to realize that while white Americans were fighting for their freedom, black Americans were joining the British imperial forces to gain theirs. There were two wars being waged at once: a political revolution for independence from Britain and a social revolution for emancipation and equality. Drawing upon recently discovered archival material, Gilbert traces the imperial and patriot rivalry over recruitment and emancipation that led both sides to depend on blacks. As well, he presents persuasive evidence that slavery could have been abolished during the Revolution itself if either side had fully pursued the military advantage of freeing slaves and pressing them into combat-as when Washington formed the all-black and Native American First Rhode Island Regiment and Lord Dunmore freed slaves and indentured servants to fight for the British. "Black Patriots and Loyalists" contends that the struggle for emancipation was not only basic to the Revolution itself, but was a rousing force that would inspire freedom movements that followed in its wake, including the black loyalist pilgrimages for freedom in places such as Nova Scotia and Sierra Leone. In this thought-provoking history, Gilbert illuminates how the fight for abolition and equality-not just for the independence of the few but for the freedom and self-government of the many-has been central to the American story from its inception.

A collection of poetry exploring the whole range of human emotions experienced throughout life. With love as its central theme it engages with a wide range of human activity. The collection has been select to appeal to a wide range of ages and tastes.

A book of evocative poetry concerning love and life. Written to be accessible to all..

As each power vies for its national interests on the world stage, how do its own citizens' democratic interests fare at home? Alan Gilbert speaks to an issue at the heart of current international-relations debate. He contends that, in spite of neo-realists' assumptions, a vocal citizen democracy can and must have a role in global politics. Further, he shows that all the major versions of realism and neo-realism, if properly stated with a view of the national interest as a common good, surprisingly lead to democracy. His most striking example focuses on realist criticisms of the Vietnam War. Democratic internationalism, as Gilbert terms it, is really the linking of citizens' interests across national boundaries to overcome the antidemocratic actions of their own governments. Realist misinterpretations have overlooked Thucydides' theme about how a democracy corrupts itself through imperial expansion as well as Karl Marx's observations about the positive effects of democratic movements in one country on events in others. Gilbert also explodes the democratic peace myth that democratic states do not wage war on one another. He suggests instead policies to accord with the interests of ordinary citizens whose shared bond is a desire for peace. Gilbert shows, through such successes as recent treaties on land mines and policies to slow global warming that citizen movements can have salutary effects. His theory of "deliberative democracy" proposes institutional changes that would give the voice of ordinary citizens a greater influence on the international actions of their own government.

Latin America now contains some of the world's largest cities. The mass migration from country to city has placed an enormous strain on the region's already inadequate infrastructure and services of cities such as Bogot and Caracas.

First published in 1994, this work has become established as one of the standard texts on urbanization and regional development problems. This revised edition contains updated statistics and analysis, as well as the author's new introduction, covering events in Latin America up to the present. Looking at a range of cities from Mexico City to Rio de Janeiro, Alan Gilbert explores the many social and environmental challenges facing the Third World's most urbanized region. Chapters explore the growth of the city, migration and informal-sector employment, housing strategies and urban protest.

This ground-breaking work employs survey data and in-depth interviews to compile a detailed picture of landlords and tenants in developing countries. Focusing on Mexico the authors examine the state's housing policy, with its clear bias towards increasing home ownership, and explores the possibilities of improving the quality and increasing the stock of rented accommodation in the developing World.

This ambitious and sweeping book presents a powerful argument against moral relativism and in favor of the objectivity of a theory of democratic individuality. Unlike much recent work in this field, the book does not simply adumbrate such a view. Rather, it develops the parallels between various versions of scientific and moral realism, and then reinterprets the history and internal logic of democratic theory, maintaining, for example, that the abolition of slavery represents genuine moral progress. The book also recasts the clashes between Marxist and Weberian, radical and liberal sociologies in the light of these moral claims, and sketches the institutions of a radical democracy.

This book is concerned with the housing needs of the poor in Latin America and how they are articulated and satisfied. Based on the authors' research in Bogota, Mexico City and Valencia, it examines the aims and implementation of government policies towards low-income housing dwellers and relates those policies to the wider interests of the state. It discusses how the poor perceive the constraints on barrio servicing, their involvement in community organisations and the role of the community in influencing state action, and demonstrates how patterns of provision mirror the relationships between the poor and the wider urban society. Its main theme is thus the allocation of resources and the operation of political and administrative power at city level.