R. J. Johnson is Vice-Chancellor of the University of Essex and was formerly Professor of Geography at the University of Sheffield. His previous publications include: On Human Geography (Blackwell, 1988), The Future of Geography (1988), Geography and Geographers (1991), and A Question of Place (Blackwell, 1991). He also edited, together with Derek Gregory and David M. Smith, The Dictionary of Human Geography (Blackwell, 4th edition, 2000) and together with P. J. Taylor, A World in Crisis (Blackwell, 2nd edition, 1989).