How the world works. Introduction ; The big cycle in a tiny nutshell ; The determinants ; Determinants addendum ; The big cycle of money, credit, debt, and economic activity ; The changing value of money ; The big cycle of internal order and disorder ; The big cycle of external order and disorder ; Investing in light of the big cycle -- How the world has worked over the last 500 years. The last 500 years in a tiny nutshell ; The big cycle rise and decline of the Dutch Empire and the guilder ; The big cycle rise of the British Empire and the pound ; The big cycle rise and decline of the United States and the dollar ; The big cycle rise of China and the renminbi ; US-China relations and wars -- The future. The future -- Appendix: Computer analysis of the conditions of, and prospects for, the world's leading countries

Examines history's most turbulent economic and political periods to reveal why the times ahead will likely be radically different from those in recent memory