Upon its initial publication in 1973 this was the first textbook to present a unified view and comprehensive treatment of the Economic Development of Europe from a continental rather than a British perspective. At the same time, it is more than mere textbook: it is an interpretive analysis of a wide range of research on the subject in many countries which explores the objective validity of earlier theories and provides an ideal starting point for further research into economic development and European history.

The work deals mainly with Western Europe, but in principally studying...