The introduction plainly states that the book is about 'poverty and the poor in Britain' (p.xi). It is about ' what poor people can expect to receive from the state in terms of 'cash and care', and what they must give in return' (p. xii). His framework for analysis then is that poverty and social exclusion are the responses to social reactions and wider are the consequence of individual attitudes, structures and practices. The book first provides a well-written and accessible chapter on the social cons truction of poverty with a particular focus upon the 1980s and 1990s. It then moves on to outline the issues, debates and disagreements over definitions of poverty. Chapter 3 provides the historical context for the argument contained within the next thr ee chapters, the core of the text. Each of these chapters in turn, focus upon a specific area of policy: social security, social services and social work and social services and community care. His final chapter called 'responding to poverty' outlines h is model for the better understanding of the complex dynamic between cash, care and poverty.
Tony Maltby
University of Birmingham