Just as textile mills and automotive assembly plants have symbolized previous economic eras, the call centre stands as a potent reminder of the importance of information in contemporary economies. Bob Russell's Smiling Down the Line theorizes call centre work as info-service employment and looks at the effects of ever-changing technologies on service work, its associated skills, and the ways in which it is managed. Russell also considers globalization and contemporary managerial practices as centres are outsourced to poorer countries such as India and as new forms of management are introduced, refined, and discarded.

Invoking extensive labour force surveys and interviews from Australia and India, Russell examines employee representation, work intensity, stress, emotional labour, and job skills in the call centre work environment. The cross-national approach of Smiling Down the Line highlights the effects of globalization and scrutinizes the similarities and differences that exist in info-service work between different industries and in different countries.

Bob Russell is an associate professor in the Department of Employment Relations at Griffith Business School, Griffith University.

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'Smiling Down the Line is highly recommended for any scholar interested in the transformation of globalized work, the effects of information and communication technologies on the technical and social division of labour, and managerial attempts to control labour process in the new economy... it stands out due to its rigour and in-depth analysis of info-services work in call centres and as a portrait of work and employment in contemporary capitalism.'

British Journal of Industrial Relations: vol49:02:2011