The first new edition since 1967 of this standard introductory textbook, this has been significantly rewritten and expanded, and fully revised. It deals with a crucial period of European history during which her economic and political domination of the world reached a climax and then crumbled. Social, economic and cultural aspects are integrated within a framework of political narrative, and the book aims to present major themes through sharp detail rather than abstract generalizations. from the decline of the Roman Empire to 1945, in twelve volumes.