_Hunger_and_Public_Action_ by Jean Dreze and Amartya Sen is a careful,
scholarly book about how to eradicate famines and chronic undernourishment.
It is crammed with references to studies and data that back up its findings.
While the writing style is verbose (the phrase "inter alia" crops up every
three pages or so), the writers keep their feet firmly on the ground and
never get lost in irrelevant academic issues.  A number of other books on
hunger have the flaw that the authors' leftist political leanings interfere
with their objectivity; this problem is minimal in this book.

Many Christians, particularly conservative Christians, have the attitude
that hunger will never be eradicated.  Sometimes Matthew 26:11 is quoted
(out of context) in defense of this view.  But while it is true that there
is a limit to how much can be done to improve this world, we should not
use this as an excuse to avoid working towards goals that we *can* achieve.
For example, India has not had a major famine since its independence in
1947, even though it has experienced severe droughts and food shortages
several times.  There is no obvious reason why other countries cannot
follow suit.  Dreze and Sen show how famines are largely preventable and
they offer much hope for the future.

The book has its limitations.  The authors focus mostly on what the
governments of famine-prone countries can do to fight hunger within 
their own borders.  Little is said about what, if anything, individuals
in developed countries can do.  Surprisingly little is also said about
the role of relief organizations such as the Red Cross or Oxfam or the
various U.N. agencies.  Finally, the authors presuppose that the
governments in question are relatively stable and powerful.  A number
of recent famines have occurred in war-torn situations or where the
government has been corrupt or in chaos.  Dreze and Sen do not have
any clear recommendations for such cases.  Nevertheless, the book does
a fantastic job of dispelling myths and marshalling facts.  It is a
must-read for anyone seriously interested in world hunger.  While the
entire text is now available on the web, it is still worth buying a copy
to have as a reference.