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The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000 Paperback – January 15, 1989

by Paul Kennedy (Author)

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About national and international power in the "modern" or Post Renaissance period. Explains how the various powers have risen and fallen over the 5 centuries since the formation of the "new monarchies" in W. Europe.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Kennedy, a history professor at Yale, here assesses the interaction between economics and strategy over the past five centuries," reported PW , concluding that "the book is a vigorous entry in the debate over the extent to which national wealth should be used for military purposes."
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product details

Paperback: 704 pages
Publisher: Vintage; 1 edition (January 15, 1989)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0679720197
ISBN-13: 978-0679720195
Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1.2 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Customer Reviews: 153 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,605 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #83 in Economic History (Books)
- #853 in World History (Books)
- #201 in International & World Politics (Books)

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153 customer reviews

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GrouchyOldman

A book well worth reading

January 8, 2016

Verified Purchase

In this book, Paul Kennedy is searching for a pattern to explain "the rise and fall of great powers".He studies and reports on economic and military factors that accompanied or caused previously dominant nations to lose their Great Power status. He divides the (1987) world into 5 principle actors: the US, the European Union (England, France, Germany only), the Soviet Union, China, and Japan. He discusses their economic and military strengths and weaknesses, and likely affects on their Great Power status. NOTE: This book was published in 1987, before the fall of the Soviet Union, before the fall of the Berlin Wall, and before China achieved its major economic transformation by adopting (somewhat) free-market policies. Thus, one might think that this book is well past its shelf life. However, what Kennedy undertakes to do is not to report on the world as it is in 1987, but to describe historical trends far predating 1987 and ending with the state of the would-be claimants to great power status as of 1987, and to show the role of interlocking factors of economic and military strength in trying to attain or preserve Great Power status.

26 people found this helpful

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Phyllis Antebi Ph.D

The march of folly:The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers

June 21, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

The "Rise and Fall of the Great Powers" is a book full of interesting thoughts. I preferred to read this book not from the beginning to the end, but rather, from the end to the beginning. This book is dense, full of facts and figures, but signifying something very relevant. Today's geopolitical landscape is much more fragmented than polarized as it was when Kennedy first published his book, 1988. Still our world leaders are facing a similar set of complex variables. These variables relate to the strength of our security requirements and the rising cost of expenditures which outpace domestic growth.
If you are interested in topics with far reaching global implications, I suggest you read at least the beginning and the end of Kennedy's 550 plus page thesis. I am reminded of Dorner's book, "The Logic of Failure". In it Dorner shows us how and why complex situations generate habits of thought which set failure in motion from the beginning. History seems to repeat itself. At least both Kennedy and Dorner agree on this!

12 people found this helpful

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Pomp t carney

How super powers go up and down over time

April 5, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

The aurora does an excellent job of relating how the ups and downs of great world powers are inextricably related to the economies of the large countries. There can be no rise of a great military without that country first having a booming economy. It seems then that once a booming economy is achieved it is only a natural next step that the politicians start waving the war flag that necessitates the building of a military to complement the economic successes. It almost seems a required next step though that the politicians are never satisfied until they have spent the country back into poverty from whence they had come.so it seems that economic boom followed by a big military machine which gobbles up all that excess money and constantly demands more to fight another war is the BOOM--BUST narrative that most great powers have followed. No country can remain at constantly and not break the bank and put its people back in the chains of poverty..........and that is basically what this book taught me. .... Unfortunately, I don't think the American give tinkers damn or they would stop this madness in Washington. Ps you can look at the Spanish in the 16-17 centuries to verify this case.

Thanks

Doc

13 people found this helpful

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Written in 1989, Still Relevant in 2016

June 12, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers by Paul Kennedy was written in 1989 in the twilight of the Cold War. This twenty-seven year time lag that a reader in 2016 leads to make mincemeat out of some of the conclusions such as this rapid rise of Japan and the role of Europe as a potential large power (this was before the 1990s Asia financial crisis and of course the 2000s global financial crisis).

Still I think the historical trends that Kennedy traces in his almost five hundred year study are valid for modern times. In particular, the comments about failing to keep up with modern technological innovation and the notion of an overreach with great powers being drained of their economic resources because of the commitments that they have made. I think of the United States in multiple wars and committed to security throughout the world.

What we learn ultimately is that no great power can have it all, forever.

11 people found this helpful

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Amazon24

Fantastic Read. Highly Recommended.

October 26, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

The book is highly informative, and goes into a lot of detail explaining why some empires rise and some fall. I really enjoyed the author's take on why Europe prospered in the way it did, and how Britain's economy helped it shoulder the burdens placed on it by Napoleonic Wars.

I would say that the best way to enjoy the book would be to have a little bit of background in history first, because it does a fantastic job of answering all the questions you might have after exploring a bit of history yourself.

Easily five out of five stars.

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JeffS

Kennedy is excellent and appears to cover the whole topic in its ...

December 2, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

The introduction chapter by P. Kennedy is excellent and appears to cover the whole topic in its entirety. The subsequent chapters seem intended to provide case studies to further illustrate the introduction chapter's concept, but: they are too long and not as eloquent, and some of them, like the one by Condolezza Rice, - with all due respect - seem incomplete or seem to contradict themselves or both.

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5 star		63%
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3 star		8%
2 star		4%
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The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000 Paperback – January 15, 1989

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

From the Inside Flap

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