From the reviews of the first edition:
"This book brings together chapters on various research projects in the semi-arid Marsabit district in northern Kenya. The chapters cover a variety of issues on aspects of human welfare . Overall the book is a set of fascinating accounts that demonstrate the difficulties in conceptualizing and measuring development let alone in devising interventions to improve peoples lives in marginal semi-arid lands." (Sara Randall, Population Studies, Vol. 60 (3), 2006)
"This book is a compendium of studies on the pastoralists of Northern Kenya . This book combines state of the art review with primary research . is a milestone in our knowledge and understanding of contemporary pastoralism in sub-Saharan Africa in general, and of the biosocial correlates of sedentarization for women and children in Northern Kenyan pastoralist groups in particular. It will be of importance to researchers, students, policymakers, and practitioners in African drylands development." (Katherine Homewood, Human Ecology, 2006)
Introduction: The Social, Health, and Economic Consequences of Pastoral Sedentarization in Marsabit District, Northern Kenya.- The Setting: Pastoral Sedentarization in Marsabit District, Northern Kenya.- Time, Terror, and Pastoral Inertia: Sedentarization and Conflict in Northern Kenya.- Ecological and Economic Consequences of Reduced Mobility in Pastoral Livestock Production Systems.- Cursed if you do, Cursed if You Dont: The contradictory Processes of Pastoral Sedentarization in Northern Kenya.- Once Nomads Settle: Assessing the Process, Motives, and Welfare Changes of Settlements on Mount Marsabit.- From Milk to Maize: The Transition to Agriculture for Rendille and Ariaal Pastoralists.- Womens Changing Economic Roles with Pastoral Sedentarization: Varying Strategies in Alternate Rendille Communities.- The Effects of Pastoral Sedentarization on Childrens Growth and Nutrition among Ariaal and Rendille in Northern Kenya.- Health and Morbidity among Rendille Pastoralist Children: Effects of Sedentarization.- Sedentarization and Seasonality: Maternal Dietary and Health Consequences in Ariaal and Rendille Communities in Northern Kenya.- Development, Modernization, and Medicalization: Influences on the Changing Nature of Female "Circumcision" in Rendille Society.- Female Education in a Sedentary Ariaal Rendille Community: Paternal Decision-Making and Biosocial Pathways.