This chapter begins with a brief description of the purpose of the book, which is to provide a survey of current and emerging global threats to health and to analyze the collective and institutional responses to globalization. It also addresses the role of key intergovernmental institutions (the World Bank, the IMF, the WTO, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Group of Eight Nations (G8)) in protecting-or, some claim, threatening-the health of the global public. The chapter then discusses the concept of "globalization", and globalization through history. An overview of the subsequent chapters is presented.