The second edition of this comprehensive economic history of the world from paleolithic times to the present takes into account the dramatic recent events that have completely realigned the economies and polities of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, and offers additional background and perspective on the non-European world, a completely revised chapter on non-Western economies on the eve of Western expansion, and a new chapter on the world economy at the end of the twentieth century. Grounded in modern economic theory, but written in non-technical language in an engaging narrative style accessible even to non-specialists, the new edition highlights historic and recent events that have contributed to prosperity and material well-being--that is, to "development"--as well as those that have resulted in continued "underdevelopment" for large areas of the world. The first half of the book surveys world history from ancient times to the eighteenth century, outlining the origins of Western prosperity. The second half investigates in detail the industrialization and urbanization that transformed Europe and America in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Cameron places the contemporary world economy, especially recent developments in Eastern Europe, the European Community, and the Persian Gulf, into broad historical perspective, making both the former East-West rivalry and the North-South split more understandable. Retaining the remarkable scope and accessibility of the first edition, this remains the essential work for general readers and scholars who want to know more about how the world came to be as it is.