This book is a study of the relationship between the use of energy in society and the general pattern of development in Great Britain during the 1870-1914 era. Professor Adams argues that Britain's apparent 'decline' in this period was not in fact a decline but a levelling off in capacity to do work, a result of the country's collective decision to invest more heavily abroad than at home. This pattern accords with Lotka's general energetic principle of natural selection. Specifically, Britain found it necessary to invest abroad, thereby creating an industrial environment for its own products and giving the impetus to other industrial nations - especially the United States and Germany - to seriously threaten Britain's primary position in industry and trade. The book should be of interest to those concerned with development, economic growth, energy and society, cultural development, and in general to specialists in anthropology, sociology, European and British history, economics and economic history.