In this synthetic history, Wesseling (emeritus, contemporary history, U. of Leiden, the Netherlands) describes the expansion, organization, and exploitation of continental Europe's colonial possessions, which by the time of World War I had come to encompass most of the earth. He treats the subject in a chronological fashion, first describing the history of the preceding centuries before presenting an examination of the general themes of the 19th century such as demography, economics, administration, and ideology. He provides separate chapters on colonies in Africa and Asia and concludes with a discussion of the colonial aspects of World War I and the Treaty of Versailles. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)