Written in 1910, when England was the superpower of the world, the author explores the question who will inherit England. He does this through exploring three types of people, each of whom represent a possible answer. If an American author in 2010 sought out the same question what would the answer be? Would the American decline be as obvious as the English? Are we living through that now? What is important a life of the mind or a life of making money or pulling one self up to a higher station in life? These questions are as relevant now as they were when it was written.