The United States of Europe

I do not spend much energy observing or pondering world politics and economics. This absence of attention to global affairs stems in part from my semi-intentional abandonment of sources of information that proffer the details of distant goings-on—newspapers, websites, television, and radio. Relative to what I understand to be the average American lifestyle, I take in minimal news and media influence.

This lack of investment in world news does not correlate directly, however, to a lack of interest. (It reflects more accurately my time prioritization.) Since Sara and I just spent seven months on an intriguing journey across opposite sides of the globe, and because I have a brother who pursues a fascinating degree in international business and finance, I harbour more than a little appetite for international matters. This appetite—along with several fascinating and eye-opening conversations in my ancestral mother-land across The Pond—led me to pick up the book, The United States of Europe, by T. R. Reid.

Reid offers an intense, savoury, and honest look into the history, politics, and economics that gave rise to what is now called the European Union. As I read the first chapters of his book I experienced a growing humility in the face of what I do not know—not just in the textbook matters of economics, politics, and history, but of the deep abiding humanness of the origins of the EU ideal.

Reid’s description of the rise of the EU as “The Invention of Peace and the Pursuit of Prosperity” and the research that supports such a description opened my perception to the EU as more than an economic pet project. Now it becomes to my vision the developing consummation of a difficult history—filled with war, ethnic conflict, evil and mistrust—shot through with courageous and brilliant leaders. The European Union becomes an entity that offers life in a history where so much death has been dealt. While nations give up crucial aspects of their sovereignty, they also gain a great peace and slowly emerging prosperity.

I found the narrative quality of Reid’s work enthralling. Though he writes with the goal of “waking up America” to what’s going on in Europe, he does not let a narrow agenda deprive him of his story-telling gifts. In a few places I found myself on the edge of my seat while reading this popular history, turning the pages to find out what happens next (as in the chapter describing the debacle with Jack Welch and a GE-Honeywell merger). What’s more, Reid does not dispense with the quirky stories that texture the hard-hitting historical miracles: he doesn’t just tell us how twenty-some countries all switched to a new currency in less that 24 hours; he also tells us the strange story of the design of the now-renowned symbol for the Euro. This kind of attention to personal detail and powerful anecdotes keeps the book from approaching the boredom level of textbook status and staying in the “fun but informative” category.

If you’ve got room on your reading list for another book, and you’ve ever wondered about that big wide world across The Pond, check out Reid’s book. It will be worth your while.

~emrys