This book provides an introduction to, and critical review of, the competing models that have been developed to explain long-term and large-scale economic change. An acquaintance with these models is necessary for an understanding of the processes that produced the foundations for the modern pattern of global production and distribution. Drawing examples from European and Asian history in the early modern period, the author presents an accessible and nontechnical exposition that will be invaluable to students of economic history.

John E. Archer examines the diversity of protest from 1780 to 1840. This book covers all forms of protest, including the Gordon Riots of 1780, food riots, Luddism, the radical political reform movement and Peterloo in 1819. It also includes the less well researched anti-enclosure, anti-New Poor Law riots, arson and other forms of "terroristic" action, up to the advent of Chartism in the 1830s. Archer's concise study of popular protest provides a unique perspective on the social history and conditions of this crucial period.

Italy was a poor, backward country compared with its neighbors to the north and west in 1861. Most of its people were farmers relying on traditional techniques and ancient forms of organization to survive. Few would have believed that within a century, the country would become one of the largest industrial powerhouses, and its people among the wealthiest in the world. This book provides a brief, up-to-date account of the literature that chronicles Italy's remarkable growth and structural change, emphasizing new views on old issues.