This book traces the foundations of modern British geography and is based upon the first-hand recollections of some of those active in the discipline between the wars and after. The contributors show how geography evolved from fragile institutional foundations in British universities, and how from the outset the subject generated both controversy and considerable diversity of opinion. The volume discusses not only the growth of geography as a specific academic discipline, but also the relationship between geography and national planning that played such an important role in post-war reconstruction.