John Coatsworth is Professor of History and Provost of Columbia University and former Dean of Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs. He is author, editor or co-editor of nine books on Latin American economic and international history, including The Cambridge Economic History of Latin America (2006) and Living Standards in Latin American History (2010). He has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in comparative and Latin American history at Columbia since 2006. He previously served at Harvard University and the University of Chicago. Other academic posts have included visiting professorships at El Colegio de México, the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the National University of Buenos Aires, the Instituto Torcuato di Tella in Buenos Aires, and the Instituto Ortega y Gassett in Madrid. He is past president of the American Historical Association, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Council on Foreign Relations.

Introduction to Volume 2; Part VI. 1500-1700: The Early Modern World: 1. New empires in Asia and the Middle East; 2. Russia, Central Eurasia, China, Japan: centralization and commercialization; 3. The Americas and Africa in the era of conquest and enslavement; 4. Crossroads on the edges of Eurasia: Europe and Southeast Asia, 1500-1800; Part VII. 1700-1850: Revolution and Reform: 5. Expansion, reform, and communication in the agrarian empires of Asia; 6. The first industrial revolution and the origins of international inequality; 7. The age of revolution; Part VIII. 1850-1914: Energy and Empire: 8. The second industrial revolution; 9. States and social movements; 10. Nationalism and anti-colonialism; Part IX. 1914-50: Wars and Revolution: 11. The Great War and world revolutions, 1914-21; 12. Twentieth-century social revolutions, 1922-39; 13. World War II and the collapse of empires, 1931-50; Part X. 1950-2000: Global Threats and Promises: 14. Cold wars and hot wars: economic boom and slowdown, 1950-85; 15. Decolonization; 16. Global connections and disturbances, 1980 onwards; Conclusion.