What precisely was the Second World War? Was it a triumph of good over evil-a modern morality play running from 1939 to 1945? Or was it something much more ambiguous and protracted? In this brilliant and vivid book, Niall Ferguson redefines World War II as the central act of a fifty-year struggle between rival empires-a colossal confrontation born of economic crisis, ethnic conflict and the inexorable decline of the West. Drawing on a pioneering combination of history, economics, and evolutionary theory, The War of the World is a revolutionary work of reinterpretation from a truly great historian. Book jacket.