Solving Social Problems: Southern Perspectives

Locating an appropriate starting point for this review is nosimple task. Part of the difficulty is that the book breaksimportant new territory for New Zealand and Australian studentsand, possibly, students and practitioners at the internationallevel because of the strong and explicit connection betweensocial problems and the work of community and social workersas social change agents. It also attempts to make direct connectionsbetween theory and practice and the unequivocal preference forcommunity-based responses, arguments and solutions. There isa good body of material that focuses on different dimensionsof social problems and a significant body of material on socialwork intervention and practice. The authors' purpose is clear. As they note on the back cover,the book is intended for students and practitioners ‘whowish to develop their reflexive practice’. The developmentof this practice is, the authors