Part of McGraw-Hill's Explorations in World History series, this brief and accessible volume explores one of the biggest questions of recent historical debate: how among all of Eurasia's interconnected centers of power, it was Europe that came to dominate much of the world. Author Jack Goldstone presents the argument as it stands in light of up-to-date research so that readers can come to understand the technological and economic inequalities between Europe and the rest of the world came to be and decide for themselves where the driving forces behind this phenomenon are taking us.