This is a survey of the economic history of France and Germany in the century between the Napoleonic Wars and World War I: a crucial period for the development of Europe. The book begins with separate studies depicting the agricultural, industrial and urban life of the two countries before the industrial revolution; it goes on to consider the development of communications before and after the railway era, the coming of modern industry, the rise of trade unionism and social legislation, and the growth and influence of banking and credit systems.