This is an excellent book, theoretically sound and featuring fascinating case studies. Willett looks comparatively at two regions across the UK and the USA, to construct a rural development model and critique existing approaches within a wider political context.

Menelaos Gkartzios, Newcastle University

There is much to unpack here, and it is deftly done across the first three chapters. Willett is adept at translating often nebulous ideas for a wider regional studies audience, whether neatly parsing affect theory (a minor academic industry itself) or introducing Bergsonian temporality (without tears). Such conceptual clarity should earn the book space on many different shelves. Readers mystified by mention of assemblage and affect, or coming to the concepts for the first time, will find explanations made the more digestible through helpful analogy. Equally, readers already in the theoretical know will find plenty to reflect on, extend and remix.

Regional Studies