At a time when the divide between the wealthy and the disadvantaged is widening, this major new textbook provides students with a critical understanding of poverty and social exclusion in relation to wealth, rather than as separate from it. Raising fundamental questions about the organisation of society, social structures and relationships and social justice, the book is split into four main sections exploring key concepts and issues; 'people and place' (poverty and wealth across different groups and situations); the role of the state; and prospects for the future.It is the only textbook to focus on the links between wealth and poverty. It includes an edited collection of chapters specially written by a distinguished panel of contributors, including Pete Alcock, Daniel Dorling, Mary Shaw, Gill Scott and Jay Ginn. It is designed with the needs of students in mind and includes useful chapter summaries, illustrative boxes and diagrams, and pointers to relevant websites and other sources of further information. It will be an essential textbook for level 1/2 undergraduate students studying social policy either as a main subject or as part of their course. It would be a core text for level 3/4 specialist modules in this field.

Tess Ridge is a Lecturer in Social Policy at the University of Bath. Her main research and teaching interests are poverty and social exclusion - especially childhood poverty and social exclusion - children and family policy, social security policy and comparative social security especially support for children and families. Tess is a trustee of the Child Poverty Action Group and Honorary Secretary of the Social Policy Association. Publications include Ridge, T (2002) Childhood Poverty and Social Exclusion, Bristol: Policy Press.Dr Sharon Wright is Lecturer in Social Policy at the University of Stirling. Her research interests are in poverty, social security, the processes of making and implementing social policy, service delivery, unemployment and active labour market policies. Her teaching interests are in social policy; poverty, income and wealth; gender, work and welfare and qualitative research methods. Sharon is Managing Co-Editor of the journal Social Policy & Society and Co-convenor of the Scottish Social Policy Network.