The Sage Handbook of Tourism Studies is successful on many levels. As a reference manual, it is recom-mended for its breadth and depth; not only is it thorough in its coverage of the major forms, issues,
and theoretical perspectives on tourism, but the individual chapters themselves are original, rigorously
researched, and highly readable. By bringing together a global body of established and emerging schol-ars from a variety of disciplines, and organizing their contributions under the single title of "tourism
studies" ‒ this Handbook not only symbolically underscores the editors’ objective of legitimizing, if
not creating, an interdisciplinary field of tourism studies, but actively builds a community of tour-ism researchers. Th is furthermore helps paint a picture of a richly textured fi eld, one that includes
anthropology, sociology, management, economics, political science, literary theory, geography, and
others ‒ yet transcends them. The Sage Handbook of Tourism Studies should draw readership from each
of these disciplines, and, hopefully, inspire researchers to integrate perspectives from other disciplines
into their own work. In the end, it is this kind of organic interface, fostered by a recognition of the
contributions of scholars from a variety of schools of thought, which will create a more unified disci-pline of "tourism studies" that can tackle the increasingly complexifying state of global tourism today.
The Sage Handbook of Tourism Studies is a step in that direction.