Defence against military attack has had a considerable geographical impact. Urban morphology frequently owes more to the defence function than to any other, whilst local, regional and national economies are often intricately dependent on defence expenditure. It is also clear that the social geography of cities, both recently and in the past, has been affected by the presence of the military. Despite its importance, defence as a major government function has not been the focus of geographical analysis in the same way as housing , transport, health or education. This volume redresses this imbalance by demonstrating the geographical importance of defence in these vital areas.