The return to geographical analysis of places and regions is one of the leading tendencies of contemporary geography. A review of current research in this new regional geography leads to an evaluation of the overall significance of recent work. Conceptual developments about the region indicate a promising reunification of idiographic and structural thinking. The failure to conduct empirical studies of the region illustrates the problems faced by geographers aiming at applied geography. In her concluding remarks, the author questions the future of a science shying away from action.