Product Description

In this important study, Janet Abu-Lughod presents a groundbreaking reinterpretation of global economic evolution and provides a new paradigm for understanding the evolution of world systems by tracing the rise of a system that, at its peak in the opening decades of the fourteenth century, involved a vast region stretching between northwest Europe and China. Writing in a clear and lively style, Abu-Lughod explores the reasons for the eventual decay of this system and the rise of European hegemony. She concludes with a provocative analysis of our current world economy, suggesting that we may be moving towards a pluralistic world similar in important respects to that of the thirteenth century.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #313445 in Books
• Published on: 1991-07-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 464 pages

Review
"A provocative, well-researched, imaginative book."--Contemporary Sociology
"A useful and stimulating economic history that juxtaposes data from many different regions....The book should prove useful and popular in world history courses."--merican Historical Review
"An important work in historical sociology."--Science & Society
"A beautifully written work, whose scope is comparable to those of Immanuel Wallerstein and Fernand Braudel."--American Sociological Association
"World history at its best, combining breadth and depth, pattern with detail....A first-class contribution that will become a major reference point in future scholarship."--American Journal of Sociology