In place of the standard survey of agriculture, population, finance, and so forth, this book provides an important and novel argument about why industrialisation took root when and where it did – it is an interpretation of, not an introduction to, the subject. Allen has convincingly argued that the combination of high wages and cheap fuel deserves a central place in our analyses of industrialisation. This will not of course be the final word on the matter, but with such a clearly articulated and strongly-supported argument, The British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective is sure to become required reading for both students and scholars for many years to come.