Book excerpt: First published in 1967, this book explores the theme of geographical generalization, or model building. It is composed of eight of the chapters from the original Models in Geography, published in 1967. The first chapter broadly outlines geographical generalization and examines the nature and function of generalized statements, ranging from conceptual models to scale models, in a geographical context. The following chapter deals with model theory in a wider scientific framework and the rest of the book discusses models of physical systems and information models. The book considers model-type generalizations that are applied in the three fields of geomorphology, meteorology and climatology, and hydrology before focusing on the transference of information and ideas in geography. This text represents a robustly anti-idiographic statement of modern work in one of the major branches of geography.