Robert William Fogel won the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1993. He is the Charles R. Walgreen Distinguished Service Professor of American Institutions in the Graduate School of Business and Director of the Center for Population Economics in the University of Chicago. His numerous publications include Time on the Cross: The Economics of Negro Slavery (with Stanley L. Engerman) and The Fourth Great Awakening and the Futureof Egalitarianism.

• List of figures; List of tables; Preface; Acknowledgments; 1. The persistence of misery in Europe before 1900; 2. Why the twentieth century was remarkable; 3. Tragedies and miracles in the Third World; 4. Prospects for the twenty-first century; 5. Problems of equity in health care; Postscript: how long can we live?; Appendix; Glossary of technical terms; Biographical notes; References.

'Escape from Hunger is without a doubt one of Fogel's masterworks. Written in an accessible style, it is ideal for use in higher-level undergraduate and graduate courses.' Cormac Ógráda, University College, Dublin (EH.HET)