... Wine, and Taxes: The Political Economy of Anglo-French Trade, 1689–1900, by John V C Nye A Farewell to Alms: A Brief Economic History of the World, by Gregory Clark A Farewell to Alms a brief economic ... history structures that can accommodate the startling facts about human history and the present world detailed in these pages It is an unabashed attempt at big history, in the tradition of The Wealth of Nations, ... economically, and remained ahead to the present day, because of accidents of geography They had the kinds of animals that could be domesticated, and the orientation of the Eurasian land mass allowed...