The United States of Europe: The New Superpower and the End of American Supremacy - Hardcover

Reid, T. R.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1594200335 ISBN 13: 9781594200335

Publisher: Penguin Press, 2004

Synopsis

A respected journalist argues that the expanding European Union is becoming a second, and potentially superior, superpower to the United States, and outlines what the new Union will mean to world trade, politics, and power. 35,000 first printing.

About this title

Review

While the United States flexes its economic and military muscles around the world as the dominant global player, it may soon have company. According to the Washington Post's T.R. Reid, the nations of Europe are setting aside differences to form an entity that's gaining strength, all seemingly unbeknownst to the U.S. and its citizens. The new Europe, Reid says, "has more people, more wealth, and more trade than the United States of America," plus more leverage gained through membership in international organizations and generous foreign aid policies that reap political clout. Reid tells how European countries were willing to discontinue their individual centuries-old currencies and adopt the Euro, the monetary unit that is now a dominant force in world markets. This is noteworthy not just for exploring the considerable economic impact of the Euro, but also for what that spirit of cooperation means for every facet of Europe in the 21st century, where governments and citizens alike believe that the rewards of banding together are worth a loss in sovereignty. Reid's most compelling portrait of this trend is in the young Europeans known as "Generation E" who see themselves not as Spaniards or Czechs but simply as Europeans. To illustrate America's obliviousness to this trend, Reid tells of former GE CEO Jack Welch, who never bothered to factor European objections into a proposed multi-billion dollar merger with Honeywell, leading to the deal being torpedoed and Welch disgraced. But what is most striking in The United States of Europe is the contrast between the new Europe and the United States. The Europeans cannot match the raw military size of the U.S., but by mixing wealth with diplomacy and continental unity (helped along by antipathy toward George W. Bush's brand of Americanism), they are forming an innovative and powerful superpower. --John Moe

About the Author

T. R. Reid has covered the U.S. Congress, national politics, and four presidential campaigns for The Washington Post. He was the Post's Tokyo bureau chief from 1990 to 1995 and then became head of the paper's London bureau, where he chronicled the stunning rise of the European Union at the dawn of the twenty-first century. Reid is now the Post's Rocky Mountain bureau chief and a popular commentator on National Public Radio. He is the author of three books in Japanese and five in English, including The Chip: How Two Americans Invented the Microchip and Launched a Revolution.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1594200335
• ISBN 13: 9781594200335
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320