Eric Jones is professor of economics (economic history) at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia, and professorial associate of the Graduate School of Management, University of Melbourne. He is author of The European Miracle: Environment, Economies, and Geopolitics in the History of Europe and Asia. Lionel Frost is lecturer in economic history at La Trobe University and author of The New Urban Frontier: Urbanisation and City-Building in Australia and the American West. Colin White is senior lecturer in economic history at La Trobe University and author of Russia and America: The Roots of Economic Divergence.

• Preface -- Introduction: Geography and Meaning -- The First Settlements Around the Pacific -- Early East Asia -- The European Intrusion: A Spanish Lake -- The European Instrusion: Pax Britannica -- The American Century -- Modern Japan and the “Little Dragons” -- Modern China -- The Cities -- The Pacific Economy: Summing Up -- Prospects -- Further Reading