Discolored and foxing on book ledge Book jacket discolored Cover has markings Random House Publishing, Book of the Month, 1987, 677 pages The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000, by Paul Kennedy, first published in 1987, explores the politics and economics of the Great Powers from 1500 to 1980 and the reason for their decline.