Anthony D'Agostino is Professor of History, San Francisco State University. He is the author of several books, including Soviet Succession Struggles (1987) and Gorbachev's Revolution, 1985–1991 (1998), as well as articles and reviews in many journals.

• 1. The great powers at the dawn of world politics; 2. Global origins of World War One: from the China scramble to the world crisis of 1904–1906; 3. Global origins of World War One: a chain of revolutionary events around the world island; 4. Balance and revolution, 1914–1918; 5. A ragged peace, 1919; 6. Scramble for Eurasia, 1919–1922; 7. Drastic acts of unhappy powers, 1922–1923; 8. Storms in the lull, 1924–1927; 9. Politics and economics of the Great Slump, 1928–1933; 10. A vogue for national economy; 11. Mussolini's moment, 1933–1935; 12. Global civil war, 1936–1937; 13. Last years of peace, 1937–1939; 14. The European War, 1939–1941; 15. The World War, 1941–1945; 16. Balance and hegemony.

'Drawing on an impressive range of sources, Anthony D'Agostino analyzes the collapse of the European balance of power and the emergence of a new world order in the era of the two world wars. The book is all the more timely now that the era of superpowers, whose rise he describes so well, seems to be coming to an end.' Professor David Kaiser, William B. Pratt Chair of Military History, US Naval War College