Netherlands-based economist Mario Stuk swings into action with a bold theory based on traditional practices. It's designed to save the wealth of our planet from the depredations of greed, dishonesty and imbalance. Positing the emergence of a species called Homo oeconomicus, he suggests that there is a natural law behind Cotrugli and Pacioli's double-entry bookkeeping system developed hundreds of years ago - a system found in nature and immanent everywhere, and one which we have sadly abandoned. Enter Homo praedator - a rapacious villain who, as Stuk successfully forecast, has brought to global markets the turmoil we are now experiencing. Stuk's interesting comments on the ECB, Enron, Parmalat and the Mani Pulite scandal show just how near we are to economic oblivion. Can we redeem ourselves? This question is at the core of this excellent and enlightening textbook. Mario Stuk was born in Dalmatia, at Orebić, in 1925. He was educated in Korčula and Zadar and studied Economy in Belgrado from 1946 to 1951. Thereafter, he was active in international trade, accumulating experiences in India, Pakistan and Western Europe. He has been living in the Netherlands since 1971. Since 1987, he has spent much of his time in Deventer's libraries.