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The United States of Europe

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The United States of Europe

The New Superpower and the End of American Supremacy

Penguin,

15 min read
10 take-aways
Audio & text

What's inside?

Lose your "old Europe" stereotypes – the E.U. is a major competitor of U.S. businesses and the next global superpower.

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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Comprehensive
  • Eye Opening
  • Background

Recommendation

This concise, well-written discussion of the new Europe is a useful introduction to the history of the European Union. Perhaps in the interest of readability, former Washington Post London bureau chief T.R. Reid portrays the E.U. as a threat to the United States and permits himself the luxury of somewhat breathless speculation. However, this sort of thing is a negligible flaw in a book so clearly aimed at a popular reading audience. To Reid’s credit, he makes the evolution of the Common Market, the creation of the euro, and contemporary Europe’s various political and economic struggles both readable and interesting. getAbstract recommends this book to managers of U.S. companies that have European offices and to anyone interested in contemporary international relations.

Summary

The Quiet Revolution

Most Americans have not noticed the profound changes taking place in Europe. The European Union has a currency, a flag, an anthem, a day of "national" celebration and the other accoutrements of a unified nation. No longer must Europeans traveling to other E.U. countries deal with border guards and foreign exchange hassles. Europe looks more and more like a country - the United States of Europe.

Winston Churchill coined the phrase the "United States of Europe." He was one of the so-called idealists - who turned out to be realists - about the potential for European unification. Julius Caesar, Napoleon and others used military force to attempt to impose a unified and homogeneous government on Europe. Only in the twentieth century, however, did the dream of European unification come true - not because of superior military force, but because of a democratic process that enabled people across Europe to express their wishes.

The U.S. had a great deal to do with making a unified Europe possible. It helped win World War II and establish democratic governments across Europe. The Marshall plan brought European countries from starvation to the beginnings...

About the Author

T.R. Reid is Rocky Mountain bureau chief for the Washington Post. He has also been the Post’s bureau chief in London and Tokyo.

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