"This book tells the story of the rise and the fall of whole economies and nations, the ascent - and frequent pauses - of mankind as the only economic animal, as producer, consumer and accumulator of wealth. ". "It tells how we have grown from being one species among many on Earth, to regard ourselves as the master species. Ten thousand years ago, there were six million of us, living mainly by hunting and gathering. Today there are more than six billion, many with a standard of living that would have been unimaginable to our Stone Age ancestors. ". "And yet it is not a straightforward story of 'progress'. Man's economic advance has occurred in fits and starts, punctuated by periods of stagnation and, sometimes, retreat. "--BOOK JACKET.