Review comments on previous editions '...a highly readable, stimulating book.' - New Society '...an important socialist contribution to the now fevered debate on Britain's long economic decline.' - History Workshop For a hundred years, Britain's decline as a great power has gone hand in hand with the relative decline of the British economy. Andrew Gamble's much acclaimed book provides a historical account of Britain's rise and fall and a succinct introduction to the main explanations of decline and political strategies for reversing it. The fourth edition has been updated throughout and a new concluding chapter assesses the state of debate and of the British economy after the Thatcher decade.