Exploring key moments in the historical development of humanity, this book conceives of human development as a dramatic tragedy. It examines avoidable sufferings in our history, considering the reasons why these sufferings were inflicted and enabled when they appear - from a certain angle - to be unnecessary.

Tim Di Muzio is a Lecturer in the School of History and Politics at the University of Wollongong. He has published in highly esteemed journals and is editor of The Capitalist Mode of Power (2013).

Prologue: The Planet of the Apes Hypothesis / Act I: The First Power Civilizations / Act II: Western Colonialism and the Transatlantic Slave Trade / Act III: The Fossil Fuel Revolution and the Rise of Military-Industrial Complexes / Act IV: The Rise of Corporate Capitalism / Act V: The Birth of Human Development / Epilogue: To be or Not to Be