MELVILLE C. BRANCH is Distinguished Professor of Planning Emeritus at the University of Southern California. He was introduced to planning as a staff member of the U.S. National Resources Planning Board in the executive offices of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. A pioneer in the field, he was instrumental in establishing the Bureau of Urban Research at Princeton University, the Graduate Program of Education and Research in Planning at the University of Chicago, and the School of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Southern California. Professor Branch has published 20 earlier books on planning, including Simulation, Planning and Society (1997), Telepower, Planning, and Society: Crisis in Communication (1994), Planning and Human Survival (1992), Planning: Universal Process (1990), and Regional Planning: Introduction and Explanation (1988), all published by Praeger.