<P>Starting with the defeat of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna, this book is full of lively portraits of the main characters of the period, from Malthus, Mill and Bentham to Marx and Robert Owen. Russell also considers the founding of democracy in America and the struggle with slavery, bringing to life the ideas and policies of Jefferson, Jackson and Lincoln. In the final section of the book, Russell compares this with the emerging nationalism and imperialism in Europe, particularly in Germany, up to World War I.</P>