The Fourth Circle: A Political Ecology of Sumatra's Rainforest Frontier John F. McCarthy (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2006)

Dante's portrayal of struggle in "the fourth circle" of hell, between those who hoard, and those who waste (the world's resources), is designated by McCarthy as a metaphorical setting for his analysis of Sumatra's rainforest users and abusers. The extremes of Dante's allegory are to be avoided according to McCarthy as he attempts to place himself between the protagonists analytically, so as to better understand the complexities of forest degradation.

He provides a meticulous appendix elaborating on his research design and methodology, a ...