This is the first biography of a world-famous pioneering development economist, Sir Hans W. Singer, who is better known throughout the developing world than any other economist, living or dead. It gives a detailed account of the way in which the 'twists of fate' led him to becoming a leading development economist. It contains a thematic synthesis of all his major theoretical and conceptual work and of the many initiatives in which he has been involved to solve the problems of developing countries.

This is the first history to be written of the World Food Programme (WFP), the food aid arm of the United Nations System. It tells the story of the antecedents and origins of WFP and growth from modest beginnings as a three-year experiment in 1963-65 to become the main source of international food aid for both disaster relief and development against the background of the evolution and development of food aid. This dual role has put WFP in the front line of the United Nations attack on poverty, hunger and food insecurity.

A comprehensive account of the numerous attempts made since the Second World War to provide food security for all, this title provides a reference source for all those involved and interested in food security issues.

This book focuses on the transformation of the WFP into the world's largest humanitarian agency, providing an in-depth account of responses to increasingly large and complex natural and man-made disasters. It examines food aid and looks to the new modalities that are required to make food more available to those in dire need.