"By fragments Chakravorty refers both to how societies are fractured into unequal groups and territories, and to the fragmentation of academic disciplines that ponder the problem. He takes an interdisciplinary approach to the questions of why incomes are distributed the way they are, and how these distributions change. Theory and explanation, patterns and trends, economic and social theory, punctuated equilibria, and gradualism and spatial inequality are among his perspectives." --Reference & Research Book News'The book represents an original and innovative intial foray into understanding the sprawling topic of income inequality from a more informed, and contextualised platform. For this reason alone, the book will be broadly appealing and important for years to come.' - Annals of the Association of American Geographers