certain times that may have been true but it did not derive from long-term hostility. Nevertheless, in the closing pages of the book the author does concede that the US was no unilateral free trader. Running alongside this idiosyncratic view is an account of the British economy that is surely at odds with the facts. It is a picture of pathetic feebleness: 'Great Britain faced a future of decline and hardship. Its once predominant global position lay in tatters' (p.2O). 'Their economy was in a shambles ...' (p.39). While the book is well written there is a danger of the story being presented in overly dramatic terms (hinted at in the title), and at times a frivolous and dismissive tone creeps in -- 'From his perch in the Treasury Department, Keynes ...'. And there are occasional lapses in accuracy such as that the Commonwealth had moved to a discriminatory trading system in the 1930s (the Dominions had been giving preferences from the 1890s), or, for example, that there were tariffs on meat. Too much of the story reads as if the world began around the time of the study. This is a pity for it is an important subject and one from which business historians can learn and to which they can contribute. Prime Minister John Howard can claim a victory at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) with the summit embracing his call for a statement demanding freer world trade. Mr. Howard had been pushing for the Commonwealth to make a strong stand on the need to relax trade barriers ahead of this month's World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial talks in Seattle. Following their weekend retreat, Commonwealth leaders released a declaration calling on all nations to dismantle trade barriers and enhance export opportunities for poorer countries. "We support efforts that would enable developing countries to build up their skills and manufacturing capacities, including the production and export of value-added goods, so as to enhance growth an...
