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In this original and far-reaching synthesis, Kai N. Lee explains that together science and politics can lead the waytoward the sustainable management of the world’s resources. Rigorous science can act as our compass, pointingus toward greater and more useful knowledge (adaptive management), and practical politics can serve as our gyroscope, keeping usbalanced between competing interest groups. Unlike some approaches to sustainable development, Compass and Gyroscope is refreshingly grounded in the realworld. Lee explains that sustainability cannot occur overnight, we have neither an adequate base of knowledgenor a reliable means of properly implementing and executing management plans. "Sustainable development is not a goal, not a condition likely to be attained on earth as we know it. Rather it is more like freedom or justice,a direction in which we strive..." Using the Columbia River Basin in the Pacific Northwest as a case study, Lee examines the successes andfailures of past and present management. He describes what has been learned, and explains how that experiencecan be applied to environmental management generally. Throughout, the author delves deeply into the theoretical framework behind the real-world experience, exploring how theories of science, politics, and cognitive psychology can be integrated into environmental management.