The late economic historian, Raymond Crotty, a specialist on economic development in Ireland, left a challenging work that addresses the processes of world history from the neolithic revoution up to the end of the 20th century. On the way, Crotty tried to explain phenomena as diverse as the role of pastoral migrations, India's holy cows, the decline of the Roman empire, feudalism, slavery, Britain's early modern development, the patterns of Western colonization, the lack of socio-economic development in the contemporary third world, and the developmental success of Japan and China. Crotty's interdisciplinary framework combines elements agricultural economics, nutritional science, development studies, and demography into a comprehensive theory of history that will challenge and intrigue historians, social scientists, and their students.

"This is an extraordinary book by an extraordinary man...Once in a blue moon, backgrounds like this enable someone to write a book that we professors, weighed down by disciplines and schools of thought, could never write...this book is an original...a must-read...Crotty uses his distinctive brand of biological and economic materialism to very powerful effect...all social scientists and historians with broad comparative interests, especially in the economy, demography, and human health of the South of the world, should read this book and reflect long on it." - Contemporary Sociology, Vol. 33, No. 2

"This is a highly original and engaging book...It offers nothing less than a philosophic history of humanity." - American Historical Review

"Crotty's [book] is a rewarding long historical analysis and a serious alternative (or addition) to others." - Journal Of World-Systems Research