Although Austria-Hungary was one of the largest and most important states in Europe until 1914, the rich literature on economic history has almost completely neglected this area. Professor Rudolph's book serves two main purposes. It is an extensive descriptive and analytical study of the process of industrialization in the Austrian half of the monarchy. It also carefully examines the role of banks in the industrialization of the area. The fundamental question at the heart of the study is the extent to which the banks actually did facilitate or hinder the process of industrialization. The book should be of major import to students of economic history, economic development, and east and central European history.