Technological improvements do not represent a recent revolution in society. Today, smartphones, tablets, and even Google Glasses have reshaped our lives, but in the 15th century, shipbuilding, navigation, and weapons extended global reach. Trade was the crucial factor in maintaining and building a nation. As civilization grew, there was a need to progress, but in efforts to do so, improvements and power became more prevalent than tribal sustainability. Despite technological progress during the 15th century, personal difficulties and social problems seemed more widespread and more evident than ever. The technological advances of the last century, impressive as they may have been, have not led to any discernible improvement in collective health and happiness. Indeed, many critics today argue that the quality of our lives and our sense of personal fulfillment have decreased rather than increased because of this paradox of progress. The expansion of the Ottoman Empire established global networks of trade and cross-cultural exchange. By the fifteenth century the people of...