The argument of this book is that three natural forces appear to lie behind most of the long-term trends of history, ie population growth, food supply and disease. Together they form a self-balancing triangle and their influence is traced from the Black Death in the 15th century, to the Portuguese and Spanish explorations, to the rise of the Dutch and English, through Western European triumphalism in their colonies and successor states, to the One World in which we live today. The author suggests that history has been driven by these forces, rather than by man's will.