cultural geographies 15(3) cultural geographies 15(3) specifically the underlying code ' (p. 110). Aneesh's arguments are well-organized and effectively communicate the often jargon-ridden world of complex technologies for those who have yet to go virtual themselves. He makes important contributions that both demonstrate the successful application of diverse social theories to real world practicalities and challenge our conventional understandings of what it means to migrate. Virtual migration itself opens up a very real (as opposed to virtual) space for discussing new forms of migration, governance, and globalization in which geographic perspectives and voices still have much to contribute. Mediating nature opens with the statement that it 'offers a history of the present nature of mass mediation' (p. 1). The use of such an ambiguous declaration as a first gambit is a deliberate ploy to open up a space to discuss and disrupt commonplace conceptions of cultural concepts such as 'nature', 'mass mediation' and 'history of the present'. While the nature of 'nature' has been given considerable attention in the academic sphere in recent years it is by engaging with this literature alongside more critical understandings of mass mediation as a historical process that the book carves out its niche. Attention to mass mediation, which is defined more expansively as 'the historical process involving a panoply of pedagogies of massification' (p. 4), is usefully extended beyond what is commonly referred to as the mass media. In this sense the arena of interest for Mediating nature includes not only media coverage of nature through television programmes, the print media or films but also experiences of (and in) parks, zoos and museums. What is most refreshing about the text is its attempt to build bridges between non-representational and non-non-representational theories, a new conceptual divide within geography. The propaedeutic approach adopted (an approach that provides introductory instruction) is also a useful device in the light of the envisaged readership of the book. Students particularly will appreciate the reiteration of debates on the nature of nature and processes of observation and communication. A minor quibble is the relegation to an appendix of attention to the social semiotic problematization framework adopted in the text. This is a shame as the material could have usefully, with some modification, have been incorporated into the introductory section of the book. Another slight disappointment, and this may be only personal predilection, is the inclusion of an epilogue in place of a more consolidating chapter at the end of the book. The concern here is that rather than reflecting carefully on the vast, rich and fascinating material that is presented in the main body of the text the final chapter actually introduces new cases and issues. Hopefully, and in the best tradition of contemporary mass media, the opportunity for reflection and consolidation will come in the form of a sequel to the important early steps taken in Mediating nature.

University of Kansas

Department of Geography, School of Natural Sciences

  and modern culture. By Nils Lindahl Elliot. London: Routledge. 2006. 284 pp. $46.95 paperback. ISBN 0 415 39325 6.