The Rise And Fall Of The Great Powers

Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000.

This book seeks to trace and to explain how the various Great Powers have risen and fallen, relative to each other, over the five centuries since the formation of the "new monarchs" of western Europe and the beginnings of the transoceanic, global system of states. Paul Kennedy has produced a general argument - that the rise and fall of great military powers is ultimately determined by the material resources at their disposal.

Intended for the intelligent layman as well as the academic historian, the book combines the scope and sweep of "popular" history with the discriminating rigour of professional historiography. The scope of the book ranges across five centuries and around the whole world. With careful attention to historic detail, the book is clever, often funny and crammed with remarkable insights.