This book is unique in its depth of perspective. It uses a comparative approach to explain why China's role in the world economy has changed so dramatically in the last thousand years. It concludes that China is likely to resume its natural role as the world's largest economy by the year 2015, thus regaining the position it had held until 1890. Except for Appendix A, this edition has been revised and updated and Chapter 4 is completely new. The study provides a major reassessment of the scale and scope of China's resurgence over the past half century, employing quantitative measurement techniques which are standard practice in OECD countries. A dynamic link (StatLink) is provided for each table and graph, which directs the user to a web page where the corresponding data are available in Excel(R) format. "The book is a must for anyone who wants to understand the past and the future of the Chinese economy." -Justin Yifu Lin, Founding Director, China Center for Economic Research, Peking University. "This second edition is a very impressive and important contribution to a subject that has deep significance for the world economy." -Professor Lawrence Klein, Nobel Laureate. "A welcome update to a dazzling essay." -Nicholas Eberstadt, American Enterprise Institute. "This review of a millenium of Chinese economic history and its implications for the future of China and the World is a remarkable achievement. A must read for anyone interested in China." -Dwight H. Perkins, Harvard University. "A great masterpiece in the field of economic history, the shoulders of a giant on which new generations of scholars from all over the world will stand. We Chinese scholars will benefit as greatly from this second edition as we have from the first." -Li Bozhong, Professor of History, Tsinghua University, Beijing. Angus Maddison is Emeritus Professor of Economic Growth and Development at the University of Groningen. He held a number of senior posts at OEEC and OECD between 1953 and 1978, and has been a policy advisor to governments in Brazil, Ghana, Greece, Mexico and Pakistan. He is the author of 20 books on the long run performance of nations, and their interactions within the world economy. He has built up an international network of scholars working in this field. He is a fellow of the British Academy, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Science, and an honorary fellow of Selwyn College, Cambridge.