He goes on to tell the story of his advisory missions to Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, Africa, and the South Pacific. Higgins weaves anecdotal accounts of his adventures in these regions, and gives his personal reactions to these environments along with analysis of the development efforts in which he participated. He explains how professional thinking about economic and social development evolved as experience and knowledge accumulated. The book also includes accounts of the author's experiences with, and reactions to, a variety of multicultural and bilateral aid agencies, thus providing an intimate picture of their operation. In his final chapter Higgins sums up his own views on the current state of economic development, development economics, economics in general, and the role of political and cultural factors in the development process.