The bottom line of Duffy’s argument is that ecotourism is bad, in the sense that its actual effects are the opposite of those that its exponents set out to achieve. Some of what she says is very interesting, some very irritating. Her argument is weak, but her thesis could still prove correct, and should certainly not be dismissed. The book is entirely about Belize, though its title gives no warning of this. No doubt this ambiguity was at the insistence of the publisher’s marketing department. Its author lectures in politics at an English University. Essentially, she argues that international visitors to beach resorts and dive tours in Belize contribute unwittingly to large-scale organised crime and closely-linked government corruption; and that this reduces the chance of establishing a homeland for the Mayan peoples of Central America, whom ecotourism is intended to benefit. If this thesis is true, it would certainly merit further investigation, and comparable studies in other countries. Unfortunately, even after reading this book several times I don’t feel I can make an informed judgement as to whether it is true or not, for a number of reasons.