Contents: Introduction : the sixteen-page economic history of the world -- The logic of the Malthusian economy -- Material living standards -- Fertility -- Life expectancy -- Malthus and Darwin : survival of the richest -- Technological advance -- Institutions and growth -- The emergence of modern man -- Modern growth : the wealth of nations -- The puzzle of the industrial revolution -- The industrial revolution in England -- Why England? Why not China, Japan or India? -- Social consequences -- World growth since 1800 -- The proximate sources of divergence -- Why isn’t the whole world developed? -- Conclusion : strange new world.