Book excerpt: Settlement Systems in Sparsely Populated Regions: The United States and Australia provides an understanding of the special difficulties encountered by those living in sparselands and the issues facing government policy makers. This book discusses the regional aspects of human settlement as well as the regional differences in human welfare. Organized into 18 chapters, this book begins with an overview of the special set of characteristics and problems of sparsely populated regions. This text then describes the rapid changes affecting lightly populated areas. Other chapters consider the collective accessibility of any location in connection to the total national population as represented by maps of population potential. This book describes as well the more self-sufficient nucleated rural settlement of the far outback. The final chapter deals with the six general observations concerning sparsely populated lands thought to have applicability beyond just the United States and Australia. This book is a valuable resource for government policy makers.