"Adam Fforde’s vibrant argumentation and unorthodoxy in thinking have to be very positively appraised. He certainly has an important agenda and a deeply rooted distrust in the power of policy, the belief in which he labels 'policy fetishism' on several occasions. In this way, Adam Fforde’s book is a very personal synthesis. It is a provocative publication, which surely enriches the debate in the field of development studies."
"[Fforde's] radical critique of development economics and policy suggests a number of ways to cope with the ensuing noise, and as such should significantly contribute to the creation of a better and more honest mainstream."
"Overall Fforde’s book is a refreshing read, tearing down the traditional assumptions of developmental theory, providing a novel approach to an age old problem. This book stands in stark contrast to other books in the development field due to its conceiving of development not as a standard problem with a knowable solution. For anyone disenchanted with current development thinking, or for students studying developmental theory, this interesting book breaks away from the orthodox conceptions of development that we so often hear. Overall Fforde should be applauded for his writing of a book that so goes against the grain; he draws out crucial implications for development thinking, that all too often are ignored or rejected as nonacademic."
"You think that outward-oriented policies produce better results than import-substiution policies, or that beneficiaries' participation in project design makes for better project performance? Think again. Adam Fforde's book unpacks these and other familiar development prescriptions to reveal the implicit assumptions about agency, intentionality, and causality behind the whole development "industry". Drawing on sources from World Bank research reports, to Japanese and Vietnamese economists, to Marx and Cardinal Newman, and on to philosophers of science, the book provides a highly original rethinking of what is being said and done in the name of "development".
"Coping with Facts by Adam Fforde is a book of interest beyond its field of development studies, to a wide range of students of Viet Nam... The philosophy, about what helpful role rationality can play when intentions do not predict outcomes, is of great interest..."
"A refreshing read, tearing down the traditional assumptions of developmental theory, providing a novel approach to an age old problem. Fforde should be applauded for his writing of a book that so goes against the grain; he draws out crucial implications for development thinking, that all too often are ignored or rejected as nonacademic."
