Western history is split into two discontinuous eras, Aldo Schiavone tells us: the ancient world was fundamentally different from the modern one. He locates the essential difference in a series of economic factors: a slave-based economy, relative lack of mechanization and technology, the dominance of agriculture over urban industry. Schiavone's lively and provocative examination of the ancient world offers a stimulating opportunity to view modern society in light of the experience of antiquity.