Why Europe Grew Rich and Asia Did Not: Global Economic Divergence, 1600–1850, by Boston College Associate Professor of History Prasannan Parthasarathi, offers a new answer to the question of why Europe industrialized from the late 18^th century, but Asia did not. He shows that in the 17^th and 18^th centuries, the advanced regions of Europe and Asia were more alike than different, with sophisticated, growing economies; and that their divergence can be attributed to different competitive and ecological pressures that produced varied state policies and economic outcomes. His account breaks with the conventional view that divergence occurred because Europe possessed superior markets, rationality, science or institutions. His rereading of global economic development ranges from India, Japan and China to Britain, France, and the Ottoman Empire, and from the textile and coal industries to the roles of science, technology and the state.