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Review from:
American Reference Books Annual 2006
Review from:
Reference Reviews (UK), November 2005
Review from: Reference & Research Book News, November 2005
Review
from: American Reference Books Annual 2006
This latest addition to The Reference
Shelf series is a compilation of articles on the foundations and
workings of the European Union. The work is divided into six well-selected
sections that range from financial to security affairs. Each of the
sections is prefaced with a pithy introduction by the editor. Smith has
culled articles from a wide variety of publications including The New
York Times, Economist, OECD Observer, Foreign Policy, The Economist,
Newsweek, and more. The European Union is not presented in the
triumphalist mode as the herald of a clear and distinct European identity.
Rather the emphasis is on the complexity and halting nature of many of the
negotiations between individual members of the union. Advancing forward in
the last few years has become even more problematic owing to the
absorption of many of the former nations of the Central and Eastern bloc.
The latter’s relatively backward economies have posed a series of
challenges to the more advanced Western European nations. The prospect of
adding Turkey is even more controversial. Nonetheless, the European Union
has pulled off a signal accomplishment in establishing a vast pan-European
free trade zone. It has also been effective in establishing a machinery
for resolving disputes among member nations. However, there have been
marked failures, such as the inability to halt the violence following the
dissolution of the former Yugoslavia. The members of the Union also have a
long way to go in sorting out their relations with the United States and
NATO. In summary, for a short work the editor provides a valuable overview
of the European Union.
Review
from: Reference Reviews (UK), November 2005
There are about 30 articles in this volume,
averaging about 2,000 words, arranged in six sections, each with broad
headings such as EU Membership, or EU Security and Relations with the
United States. Sections are provided with a short introduction by the
editor, summarizing the main events covered. The whole book does indeed
provide an easily digestible overview of the current problems facing the
European Union, such as Will the proposed new Constitution be accepted?
…Will tensions over Turkey's membership hold up her eventual accession?
Will the Eastern European members be able to adapt their economies to the
new conditions? Will high budget deficits undermine the exchange rate of
the Euro? How will Europe cope with a declining population and pressure
from immigrants? Will there be effective military co-operation between the
countries of the Union, and if there were, would that weaken NATO? How
will Europe's foreign policy differences with the United States be
resolved?
Another section provides bibliographical
details and abstracts of a further 30 selected articles of similarly
recent date to the full-text ones: some of these cover the same subjects
as the latter, but others extend the scope of the coverage. There are also
a chronology of the history of the European Union extending as far as the
invitation to Turkey to begin negotiations for membership in December
2004; a short bibliography of recent books; a very short list of web
sites…and an index….The book certainly achieves its aim of providing a
comprehensive, and comprehensible, guide to current issues in the EU.
Review from: Reference & Research Book News, November 2005
Newspaper and magazine articles present views on the
Union’s history and structure, membership, trade and finance, open
borders, security and relations with the US, and environmental policy. A
timeline is appended, and additional periodical articles with articles are
listed in the bibliography along with books and web sites. Most of the
perspectives are American, though Smith complains that U.S. media are not
very interested in Europe, so he has had to settle for European voices on
occasion. |
