New Princeton paperback printing, with a new foreword by J.R. McNeill.

The Global Condition is a classic work for understanding the grand sweep of world history in brief compass. Now with a new foreword by J. R. McNeill, this book brings together two of William Hardy McNeill's popular short books and an essay. The Human Condition provides a provocative interpretation of history as a competition of parasites, both biological and human; The Great Frontier questions the notion of "frontier freedom" through an examination of European expansion; the concluding essay speculates on the role of catastrophe in our lives.

"How refreshing in this era of foreboding to read an informed analysis of human prospects ending on a positive note that we are the creators rather than the creatures of our destiny."---L.S. Stavrianos, Journal of World History