Problems and crises. Analyses and answers. Contemporary World Issues explores--topic by topic--the critical challenges facing America and the world in the 21st century. 24-hour cable news. Millions of Internet sites. Information overload. How can we sort through the information? Assess the analyses? Trust the sources? Contemporary World Issues provides a simple solution -- informed and readable authors offering concise yet thorough discussions of today's most talked-about topics as they affect America and the world. Exploring such diverse subjects as tobacco and terrorism, rainforests and religion, affirmative action and urban sprawl, Contemporary World Issues provides the historical background, the contemporary context, and the resources for further research. Exhaustive, concise, accessible, accurate, and up-to-date.