It is a unique guide to the life and work of those thinkers most responsible for the current 'spatial turn' in the social sciences. Highlighting the work of more than 60 key thinkers it provides a synoptic overview of different ideas about the role of space and place in contemporary social, cultural, political and economic life. With concise, uniform entries throughout, the portrait of each thinker comprises: - biographical information and theoretical context - an explication of their contribution to spatial thinking - an overview of key advances and controversies - bibliographies of primary and secondary literature As a primer on the spatial imagination, the text illustrates the diverse ways that space and place can be theorized: from humanism to Marxism, feminism to post-structuralism, queer theory to post-colonialism. The book will be an indispensable purchase not just for geographers, but for all those interested in theories of space and place - whether in geography, sociology, urban studies, cultural studies, or anthropology.