Robert H. Bates is the Eaton Professor of the Science of Government and professor of African and African American Studies at Harvard University. His books include Open-Economy Politics and Analytic Narratives (both Princeton).
This is a beautifully written book that will add much to the scholarly discourse on the origins of comparative development. By looking to medieval Europe for insights on contemporary development, it presents a rare and valuable analysis that has important lessons for all readers. . . . It is an essential addition to a paramount research agenda. ---Eoin McGuirk, EH.net