How did the West - Europe and later North America - escape from the timeless cycle of hunger and hardship into sustained economic growth and prosperity? Why did industrialization first take place in the West? Why did the West leave the rest of the world behind? These are still questions that arouse enormous controversy: the Western economic miracle has been explained by everything form slavery to science.

In this important and provocative book, Nathan Rosenberg and L. E. Birdzell, Jr. reevaluate the course of Western history from the Middle Ages to the present. They present a strong case for attributing the West's unparalleled wealth and prosperity to the break-up of centralized political and religious controls. This they argue, resulted directly in rapid economic development by allowing small enterprises to make their own choices with regard to innovation - whether in the technical or organizational field, or in the extension of trade. The key themes in this exciting reinterpretation are the complex reciprocal relationship between science, technology and the market place and autonomy, experimentation and diversity.

The author's conclusions challenge many assumptions about the sources of Western economic strength, including recent theories in which mass production and the modern corporation are given instrumental roles. The issue of the West's lead over the rest of the world is as relevant today as it has ever been. This book is a significant contribution to the continuing debate.