This book provides an in-depth look at the realities of development and development work in the South Indian state of Tamilnadu. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, Moen Mathiot detailed the conditions of poverty facing rural, landless agricultural workers and the social, economic, and political contexts of development. Within these contexts, women and men in grassroots nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) struggle to assist the landless poor. At the same time, these development workers confront their own problems of family pressures, inadequate training, and insufficient resources to carry on their work. Moen Mathiot's book enables us to tap into the mindsets of grassroots development workers-their analysis of the problems, the strategies of change, and the obstacles that prevent them from accomplishing more. As NGOs are utilized to implement more and more development programs, understanding the realities of these workers becomes essential for both scholars and practitioners in the development studies field.