Considering the importance of the economic aspect of international relations in the pre-war period, it is surprising that no effort has hitherto been made to study the Anglo-German commercial rivalry from the sources. The present conscientious piece of work fills a large gap. The author has gone through huge masses of commercial reports, statistical collections, parliamentary investigations and contemporary periodical material. He gives a detailed picture of the evolution of the Anglo-German problem, and makes a significant contribution to the literature of war origins.